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A particular concern of the government is the mood of young Israeli Arabs, who are far more likely than their elders to identify with the anti-Zionist cause of the Palestinians. Having grown up in the Jewish state, many of these Arab youths speak fluent Hebrew, know the customs of the country and can easily be mistaken for Jews. If sufficient numbers of them were to join the terrorists—a realistic possibility should the causes of Arab unrest continue—Israel might well find itself combatting a war on its home front as well as a threat on its frontiers.
HOW ISRAEL GOT THE BOMB
SPECIAL REPORT
For years there has been widespread speculation about Israel's nuclear potential—speculation that has now been confirmed. At a briefing for a group of American space experts in Washington recently, an official of the Central Intelligence Agency estimated that Israel had between ten and 20 nuclear weapons "available for use." In fact, TIME has learned, Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal of 13 atomic bombs, assembled, stored and ready to be dropped on enemy forces from specially equipped Kfir and Phantom fighters or Jericho missiles. These weapons have a 20-kiloton yield, roughly as powerful as those that obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Israel has thus joined a nuclear club that includes, of course, the U.S. and Soviet Union, both of which have so much megatonnage that it is difficult to measure. France and Britain have several hundred nuclear warheads; India and China are estimated to be in Israel's class as fledgling atomic powers.
Israel's 13 bombs, TIME has also learned, were hastily assembled at a secret underground tunnel during a 78-hr, period at the start of the 1973 October War. At that time, the Egyptians had repulsed the first Israeli counterattacks along the Suez Canal, causing heavy casualties, and Israeli forces on the Golan Heights were retreating in the face of a massive Syrian tank assault. At 10 p.m. on Oct. 8, the Israeli Commander on the northern front. Major General Yitzhak Hoffi, told his superior: "I am not sure that we can hold out much longer." After midnight. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan solemnly warned Premier Golda Meir: "This is the end of the third temple."* Mrs. Meir thereupon gave Dayan permission to activate Israel's Doomsday weapons. As each bomb was assembled, it was rushed off to waiting air force units. Before any triggers were set, however, the battle on both fronts turned in Israel's favor. The 13 bombs were sent to desert arsenals, where they remain today, still ready for use.
Did Israel's nuclear capability play a part in the U.S. global military alert of Oct. 25, 1973? According to TIME'S sources, the Israelis were convinced that the Russians had learned of the newly acquired nuclear potential, possibly through a Soviet Cosmos spy satellite over the Middle East. What is certain