"During the first four years following the establishment of the state of Israel, the main security problem was that of infiltration - from Jordan and Egypt. At first the aims of infiltration were theft or an attempt to take over and cultivate no-man's land. Israel was in danger of reverting to a state in which ownership was established by actual possession of the land and not in accordance with a signed document. In effect, the cease-fire borders were not final ones, despite their having been agreed upon and entered onto maps. Any lapse in the rigid watch kept upon the countryside would result in a mass reoccupation of the fields and villges by the Arab refugees. This was of course dangerous, since it opened up a possibility of penetration of Arab spies along with the farmers."
- Moshe Dayan, letter written in the 1970s
Source: Miller, Anita & Jordan, and Zetouni, Sigalit. Sharon: Israel's Warrior-Politician. Academy Chicago Publishers & Olive Publishing, Chicago, 2002.
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