Former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan says that Israel should be prepared to invade Lebanon if it becomes evident that preparations were being made in that country for an attack on Israel. In an interview published today in Yediot Achronot. Dayan stressed that he saw no evidence of such preparations at present.
But, he said, if the Syrians deployed anti-aircraft missile batteries in Lebanon to create an umbrella over Israel, Israeli forces would have to enter Lebanon to prevent this because an anti-aircraft network is not part of the internal Lebanese conflict.
Dayan said he had no intentions of leaving the Labor Party unless the party changed its image in a way that he could not condone. He said if there was a basic change in the party’s platform toward the issue of withdrawals from the West Bank “I do not think that I shall be able to identify myself with it and go on that ticket to the nation.” he said.
Dayan approved of a peace approach to the Arabs based on the establishment of non-belligerence. He envisaged non-belligerence as a formal renunciation of the state of war, a reduction of armed forces on both sides and international guarantees and undertakings to back up the new status.
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.
