Dayan Says Israel Can Defeat Arabs Again Despite Their Increased Air, Armored Power

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said today that Israel was fully capable of defeating the Arabs in another war despite the fact that combined Arab strength is 60 percent greater in air power and 50 percent greater in armor than it was before the June, 1967 Six-Day War.

Gen. Dayan said that immediately after the war, Egypt had only 40 percent of its pre-war air strength and 30 percent of its armored force intact. But since the war the Egyptian Air Force and armor have become 70 percent stronger than they were when the war broke out. He said Israel’s objective was to prevent escalation that could lead to a new war and to dampen the Arab will to fight. He doubted that a major war would erupt in the “very near future” but observed that the Arabs states, especially Egypt, were mobilizing their forces and preparing opinion at home and abroad for a new round of fighting against Israel. Gen. Dayan said that the Arab states were not even attempting to maintain the pretense of a cease-fire and have said that it does not exist.

He said that in face of the threats posed by the Arab governments and the Palestinian guerrilla movement, Israel has become substantially stronger in equipment and training than it was before the Six-Day War. He said Israel’s policy was to reduce the loss of life and equipment as much as possible in face of the Arab war of attrition. He belittled Egyptian military strikes against Israeli positions in the Suez Canal zone and the Sinai Peninsula. He likened Israel’s deployment along the Canal to “Swiss– Cheese–with many holes through Arab commandos may penetrate.” But, he said, Egyptian raids have achieved little success.

Gen. Dayan disclosed that in the past seven months the Egyptians carried out 13 air attacks. 15 commando raids and one naval sortie. Israel suffered 49 casualties, only a small fraction of them fatal. But the Egyptians suffered 30 casualties, mostly killed. During the same period, Israel made over 65 air raids and an unspecified number of ground attacks which cost the Egyptians more than 1,000 casualties against 20 Israeli casualties, he said.

Gen Dayan supported the concept of collective punishment in the occupied territories. He said local Arabs would be held responsible for terrorist activities in their neighborhood when there was ample evidence that they knew of the terrorists in their midst.