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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.

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