General Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s Chief of Staff, asserted here today that Egypt had a bomber fleet with a delivery potential superior to that of France or Italy, and that Egyptian tanks were as good as the best in Europe.
He said also that Israel’s principal security problem was to maintain a deterrent superiority over Egypt, which he called the only Arab country capable of launching itself single-handedly against Israel. He added that there was a need in Israel for long-term regular army men who could master the increasingly sophisticated equipment of modern armament.
Syrian nervousness led to several incidents on Israel’s northern border in the past 48 hours, the Army spokesman reported here today. The latest incident occurred this morning, when an Israeli armored car, patrolling well within Israeli territory, hit a Syrian-planted mine opposite Syrian positions. Three occupants of the vehicle were seriously injured.
Yesterday, Syrians tried to penetrate into Israeli territory, touching off an exchange of fire between an Israeli patrol and Syrian positions. Israel filed a complaint with the Mixed Armistice Commission over the attempted penetration which was made by three Syrians at the northern tip of the border. Two were armed. The Israel patrol spotted the infiltrators and fired warning shots. Syrian positions then directed heavy rifle and automatic fire against the patrol, and the fire was returned. There were no casualties among members of the patrol.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
