Quotation from Moshe Dayan “Knew in advance that the Syrians would start to shoot” — 1981

Explains in 1976 to a young journalist, Rami Tal, the technique for provoking violent "reprisals" before 1967 following a response to graduated provocations.

Author : Thematics :
" Never mind that [when asked that Syrians initiated the war from the Golan Heights]. After all, I know how at least 80 percent of the clashes there started. In my opinion, more than 80 percent, but let's talk about 80 percent. It went this way: We would send a tractor to plough someplace where it wasn't possible to do anything, in the demilitarized area, and knew in advance that the Syrians would start to shoot. If they didn't shoot, we would tell the tractor to advance farther, until in the end Syrians would get annoyed and shoot. And then we would use artillery and later the air force also, and that's how it was. I did that, and Laskov and Chara [Zvi Tsur, Rabin's predecessor as chief of staff] did that, Yitzhak did that, but it seems to me that the person who most enjoyed these games was Dado [David Elzar, OC Northern Command, 1964-69]. "

Published in 1981 un the weekly supplement of Yediot Aharonot.
Quoted by Avi Shlaïm, Le mur de fer , Buchet Chastel, 2008, p. 271.

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