Newly declassified documents show that former Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Director Eli Zeira asked that sophisticated devices meant to provide an early warning of any attack remained switched off before the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The documents show that Menachem Digli, then head of the IDF Intelligence Corps Collection Department, repeatedly asked Zeira to approve the activation of the devices, only to be rebuffed each time.
Zeira said, “My criterion for turning [the devices] on was a situation of uncertainty.” He said he felt that way only twice before the war-between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, and between Oct. 4 and Oct. 5, when he learned that Soviet advisers were leaving Egypt.
When the devices were turned on, they “did not provide any indication on a looming war until it actually started,” according to Zeira.
{Matzav.com Israel}
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