Dado sat me down and filled me in on what was obviously a changing situation

Dado sat me down and filled me in on what was obviously a changing situation. He said the terrorists had allowed the pilot, Reginald Levy, to come see Dayan and press their demands. He had brought with him a slab of light-yellow material to demonstrate the seriousness of the risk of saying no. When tested, it turned out to be exactly what the hijackers said it was: plastic explosive. The pilot said there were four terrorists: two men with pistols and two women with explosives and grenades. There were 95 passengers and seven crew. He’d also confirmed that none of the exits above the wings was blocked by a passenger seat. He’d returned to the plane without any clear answer from Dayan on the prisoner release. But before leaving, he revealed that his own wife was among the passengers. He asked Dayan to promise that Israel would help care for their daughter if the hijack ended tragically. By the next morning, that was looking more and more likely. Though the hijackers were still in contact with the tower, the only visible movement was the arrival of a representative of the Red Cross. The lead hijacker, who called himself Captain Rifa’at, was making increasingly forceful demands for the prisoner release. Our negotiating team did its best to buy time by giving the appearance we were considering the demand. It was Dayan who came up with the idea of going further. He told Rechavam Ze’evi, as the head of the central command area, to begin rounding up hundreds of young Israeli reserve soldiers. He wanted them dressed them in prison uniforms, and then bused to the airport, within sight of the hijacked jet. Dayan also arranged for another Boeing 707, ostensibly to take the “freed prisoners” on to Cairo. “What then?” Ze’evi asked Dayan. “We’re not really going to put them on a plane and take off!” It was after he’d had no real reply that he in effect answered his own question, inadvertently leading us to the idea of attempting a daytime attack after all. Talking to Dado and me, he said: “Since we’re going to such lengths to deceive them, why not just add another layer? Why can’t Ehud’s people take the role of the airport mechanics?” Looking at each other, Dado and I realized it was a stroke of brilliance. Dado went to share the plan with Dayan, confident that he would be no less enthusiastic, which he was. I remained with Ze’evi and his deputy to work out the details. We agreed they would take care of the pantomime with the prisoners, as well arranging for El Al to get us the ladder trucks that airline maintenance crews used, which would allow us access to the Sabena jet’s front and rear doors as well. That left me free to concentrate on preparation and training. 120 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_027968