As long as Israel remains strong and the Arabs realize it, peace will prevail, Maj. Gen. Moshe Dayan, Israel Army Chief of Staff, declared here last night at a dinner in Grosvenor House sponsored by the British Committee for the Haifa Technion.
Israel is a small nation, he said, but on a moment’s notice can mobilize a considerable force for the Middle East–250,000 persons. “Israel is able to turn every element in the country into a fighting unit,” Gen. Dayan said, and “every settlement would be converted into a fortified position strong enough to fight the Arabs” if they attacked.
It would be, he continued, much more difficult for Arab armies to break through this chain of fortified settlements than it would be for Israel forces to reach the Suez Canal–as has been demonstrated, Israel, more than any other country in the Middle East, is ready to fight for herself, the General pointed out. That is why she “fulfilled her task in the Sinai campaign” and the other side did not, he said. Commenting on the current status of Israel-Arab relations, the army chief said “we’ve probably not had it as peaceful as now since the establishment of the state.”
Other speakers at the dinner, which raised 40,000 pounds ($112,000) for the Technion, included: Admiral Inglis, director of British Naval Intelligence, Sir Ben Lockspeiser, head of Britain’s atomic energy project, Israel Ambassador Eliahu Elath and British Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie.
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