Operation Entebbe

Operation Entebbe
Part of Arab-Israeli Conflict
Entebbe Uganda Airport Old Tower1.jpg
The old terminal building of the Entebbe International Airport as it appeared in 2008.
Date 4 July 1976
Location Entebbe Airport, Uganda.
Result Mission successful; 102 (out of 105) hostages rescued.
Belligerents
 Israel PFLP PFLP-EO
Revolutionäre Zellen.png Revolutionäre Zellen
 Uganda
Commanders and leaders
Israel Yekutiel Adam
Israel Dan Shomron
Israel Benjamin Peled
Israel Yonatan Netanyahu  †		 PFLP Wadie Haddad
Revolutionäre Zellen Wilfried Bose  †
Uganda Idi Amin
Strength
Approximately 100 Commandos,
including Sayeret Matkal, Sayeret Tzanhanim and Sayeret Golani,
plus air crew and support personnel.		 7 hijackers
Unknown number of Ugandan soldiers.
Casualties and losses
1 commando killed
5 commandos wounded		 Hijackers:
All 7 killed
Ugandan Soldiers
45 Ugandan soldiers killed
Unknown number of Ugandan soldiers wounded
11 aircraft destroyed.
4 hostages killed
10 hostages wounded

Operation Entebbe was a hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on July 4, 1976.[1] A week earlier, on June 27, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and supporters and flown to Entebbe, near Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Shortly after landing, all non-Jewish passengers were released.

The IDF acted on intelligence provided by Israeli secret agency Mossad. In the wake of the hijacking by members of the militant organizations Revolutionary Cells and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, along with the hijackers' threats to kill the hostages if their prisoner release demands were not met, the rescue operation was planned.[2] These plans included preparation for armed resistance from Ugandan military troops.[3]

The operation took place at night, as Israeli transport planes carried 100 elite commandos over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to Uganda for the rescue operation. The operation, which took a week of planning, lasted 90 minutes and 103 hostages were rescued. Five Israeli commandos were wounded and one, the commander, Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed. All the hijackers, three hostages and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed, and 11 Soviet-built MiG-17's of Uganda's air force were destroyed.[4] A fourth hostage was murdered [5] by Ugandan army officers at a nearby hospital.[6]

The successful rescue, named Operation Thunderbolt,[note 1] is sometimes referred to as Operation Jonathan in memory of the unit's leader, Jonathan Netanyahu. He was the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, currently the Prime Minister of Israel.[7] As a direct result of the successful operation, the United States military developed highly trained rescue teams modeled on the Entebbe rescue. The most visible, though unsuccessful attempt to imitate it was Operation Eagle Claw, a failed attempt to rescue 53 American embassy personnel held hostage in Tehran, during the Iran hostage crisis.[8][9]

Contents

Hijack

Air France Flight 139
Hijacking summary
Date 27 June 1976
Type Hijacking
Site Greek Airspace
Passengers 248
Crew 12
Injuries 10
Fatalities 4
Survivors 256
Aircraft type Airbus A300
Operator Air France
Tail number F-BVGG
Flight origin Ben Gurion International Airport
Stopover Athens (Ellinikon) International Airport
Destination Charles De Gaulle International Airport

On 27 June 1976, Air France Flight 139, an Airbus A300 (Airbus A300B4-203), registration F-BVGG (cn 019), originating from Tel Aviv, Israel, carrying 248 passengers and a crew of 12, took off from Athens, heading for Paris.[10][note 2] Soon after the 12:30 p.m. takeoff, the flight was hijacked by two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations (PFLP-EO) and two Germans from the German Revolutionary Cells—Wilfried Böse and Brigitte Kuhlmann. The hijackers diverted the flight to Benghazi, Libya.[11] There it was held on the ground for seven hours for refuelling, during which time a female hostage was released—who pretended to be having a miscarriage.[2] The plane left Benghazi, and at 3:15 p.m. on the 28th, more than 24 hours after departure, it arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.[11]

At Entebbe, the four hijackers were joined by at least four others, supported by the pro-Palestinian forces of Uganda's President, Idi Amin. They demanded the release of 40 Palestinians held in Israel and 13 other detainees imprisoned in Kenya, France, Switzerland, and West Germany. They threatened that if these demands were not met, they would begin to kill hostages on 1 July 1976.[12] The hijackers deliberately sorted the hostages into two groups—Israeli nationals and others, or Jews and Gentiles.[13] As they did so a Holocaust survivor showed Böse a camp registration number tattooed on his arm, Böse protested "I'm no Nazi! ... I am an idealist".[13] The hijackers held the passengers hostage for a week in the transit hall of Entebbe Airport—now the old terminal. Some hostages were released, but 105 remained captive.[11] The hijackers threatened to kill them if Israel did not comply with their demands.[12]

Upon the announcement by the hijackers that the airline crew and non-Jewish passengers would be released and put on another Air France plane that had been brought to Entebbe for that purpose, the flight captain Michel Bacos told the hijackers that all passengers, including those remaining, were his responsibility and that he would not leave them behind. Bacos' entire crew followed suit. A French nun also refused to leave, insisting that one of the remaining hostages take her place, but she was forced into the waiting Air France plane by Ugandan soldiers.[3] A total of 85 Israeli and non-Israeli Jewish hostages remained, as well as 20 others, most of whom were the crew of the Air France plane.[1][14]

Operational planning

Caricature of Idi Amin, the president of Uganda at the time, who supported the hijackers in their efforts.

In the week prior to the raid, Israel tried a number of political avenues to obtain the release of the hostages. Many sources indicate that the Israeli cabinet was prepared to release Palestinian prisoners if a military solution seemed unlikely to succeed. A retired IDF officer, Baruch "Burka" Bar-Lev, had known Idi Amin for many years and was considered to have a strong personal relationship with him. At the request of the cabinet he spoke with Amin on the phone many times, attempting to obtain the release of the hostages, without success.[15][16]

On the 1 July deadline,[17] the Israeli government offered to negotiate with the hijackers in order to extend the deadline to 4 July. Amin asked them to extend the deadline until 4 July. This meant he could take a diplomatic trip to Port Louis, Mauritius, in order to officially hand over the chairmanship of the Organisation of African Unity to Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.[18] This extension of the hostage deadline would prove crucial in allowing Israeli forces enough time to get to Entebbe.[10]

On 3 July, the Israeli cabinet approved the rescue mission,[19] under the command of Major General Yekutiel "Kuti" Adam with Matan Vilnai as the Deputy Commander.[20] Brigadier General Dan Shomron was appointed to command the operation on the ground.[21]

Hostage interviews

Mossad built an accurate picture of the whereabouts of the hostages, the number of militants and the involvement of Ugandan troops from the released hostages in Paris.[22] While planning the military operation, the Israeli army built a partial replica of the airport terminal with the help of some Israeli civilians who were involved in building the actual terminal. A very high level of secrecy was maintained, and the civilian contractors who had built the replica were detained as "guests" of the military until the rescue was declared a success.[23]

According to a 5 July 2006, Associated Press interview with raid organizer "Muki" Betser, Mossad operatives extensively interviewed the hostages who had been released.[24] As a result, another source of information was a French-Jewish passenger who had been mistakenly released with the non-Jewish hostages. Betser reports that the man had military training and "a phenomenal memory", allowing him to give information about the number and arms of the hostage-takers, among other useful details.[24]

The building

While preparing the raid the Israeli army consulted with Israeli firms involved in building projects in Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. The building in which the hostages were being held was built by an Israeli construction firm, which still had the blueprints and supplied them to the government of Israel. Additionally, Mossad (Israel's intelligence service) built an accurate picture of the whereabouts of the hostages, the number of militants, and the involvement of Ugandan troops from the released hostages in Paris.

While planning the military operation, the IDF erected a partial replica of the airport terminal with the help of civilians who had helped build the original. It has been claimed by researchers that after arriving at the military base to begin work on the replica building (not being aware beforehand what they were to do), the civilian Israeli contractors were invited to dinner with the commander of the base. At the dinner, it was indicated to them that, upon completion of the replica, and in the best interest of national security, they would be held as guests of the military for a few days.

During the entire operation an extremely high level of secrecy was maintained. According to a 5 July 2006, Associated Press interview with raid organizer "Muki" Betser, Mossad operatives extensively interviewed hostages who had been released. Another source of information came from a French-Jewish passenger who had been mistakenly released with the non-Jewish hostages. Betzer reports that the man had military training and "a phenomenal memory", allowing him to give information about the number and arms of the hostage-takers, among other useful details. After days of collecting intelligence and planning by Netanyahu's deputy Moshe "Muki" Betser, four Israeli Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew secretly to Entebbe Airport, by cover of night, without aid of Entebbe ground control.[14]

Task force

The Israeli ground task force numbered approximately 100 personnel, and comprised the following:[21]

This small group comprised the overall ground commander, Brig. Gen. Shomron, and the communications and support personnel.
A 29-man assault unit led by Lt. Col. Netanyahu, this force was composed entirely of commandos from Sayeret Matkal, and was given the primary task of assaulting the old terminal and rescuing the hostages. Major Betser led one of the element's assault teams; Matan Vilnai led another.
  1. Securing the area, and preventing any hostile ground forces from interfering with the C-130 Hercules aircraft and the actual rescue.
  2. Destroying the squadron of MiG fighter jets on the ground, to prevent any possible interceptions by the Ugandan Air Force.
  3. Providing protection for and assisting in the loading of the hostages aboard the transports.
  4. Assisting in the ground refuelling of the air transports.

The raid

Aerial photo of the city of Entebbe and the Entebbe International Airport in sunset

Attack route

The task force's route flew over Sharm al-Sheikh and down the international flight path over the Red Sea, mostly flying at a height of no more than 30 m (100 feet) to avoid radar detection by Egyptian, Sudanese, and Saudi Arabian forces. Near the south outlet of the Red Sea the C-130s turned south and passed south of Djibouti. From there, they went to a point northeast of Nairobi, Kenya, likely across Somalia and the Ogaden area of Ethiopia. They turned west, passing through the African Rift Valley and over Lake Victoria.[25]

Two Boeing 707 jets followed the cargo planes. The first Boeing contained medical facilities and landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The commander of the operation, General Yekutiel Adam, was on board the second Boeing, which circled over Entebbe Airport during the raid.[21]

The Israeli forces landed at Entebbe at 23:00 IST, with their cargo bay doors already open. A black Mercedes and accompanying Land Rovers were taken along to give the impression that the Israeli troops driving from the landed aircraft to the terminal building were an escort for a returning Amin, or other high-ranking official.[3][26] The Mercedes and its escort vehicles were quickly driven by the Israeli assault team members to the airport terminal in the same fashion as Amin. Along the way, two Ugandan sentries, who were aware that Idi Amin had recently purchased a white Mercedes to replace his black one, ordered this procession of vehicles to stop. The commandos shot the sentries with silenced pistols, but failed to kill either of them.[3] As they pulled away, an Israeli commando in one of the Land Rovers that followed the Mercedes noticed that the sentries were still alive, and immediately killed them with a burst from his assault rifle.[3] Fearing premature alerting of the hijackers, the assault team was quickly sent into action.[26]

Hostage rescue

The Israelis sprang from their vehicles and burst towards the terminal. The hostages were in the main hall of the airport building, directly adjacent to the runway. Upon entering the terminal, the commandos were shouting through a megaphone, "Stay down! Stay down! We are Israeli soldiers." in both Hebrew and English. A 19-year-old Frenchman named Jean-Jacques Maimoni—who chose to identify himself as an Israeli Jew to the hijackers even though he had a French passport—stood up,[11] and was killed by the Israeli commandos, who mistook him for a hijacker. Another hostage, Pasco Cohen, 52, the manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, was also fatally wounded by gunfire from either the hijackers or the commandos.[11] In addition, a third hostage, 56-year-old Ida Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had emigrated to Israel, was killed in the crossfire.[11]

A C-130 Hercules in front of old terminal after arriving with food and supplies for the Rwandan refugee camps in 1994. Note bullet hole damage from the 1976 raid still visible.

At one point, an Israeli commando called out in Hebrew, "Where are the rest of them?", referring to the hijackers. The hostages pointed to a connecting door of the airport's main hall, into which the Israeli commandos threw several hand grenades. They then entered the room and shot dead the three remaining hijackers, thus completing their assault.[10] Meanwhile, the other three C-130 Hercules had landed and unloaded armoured personnel carriers, which were to be used for defense during the anticipated hour of refuelling; for the destruction of Ugandan jet fighters at the airport so as to prevent them from pursuing the Israelis after their departure from Entebbe Airport; and for intelligence-gathering.[10]

Departure

After the raid, the Israeli assault team returned to their aircraft and began loading the hostages on board. Ugandan soldiers shot at them in the process. The Israeli commandos returned fire with their assault rifles, inflicting heavy casualties on the Ugandans. During this brief but intense moment, Ugandan soldiers fired at them from the Airport control tower. Commander Yonatan Netanyahu was killed, possibly by a Ugandan sniper.[27] He was the only Israeli commando killed in the operation.[10] The Israelis finished the loading, loaded Netanyahu's body into one of the aeroplanes, and then left Entebbe Airport.[4] The entire operation lasted 53 minutes—of which the assault lasted only 30 minutes, and all seven hijackers that were present were killed.[10] At least five other Israeli commandos were wounded. Out of the 105 hostages, three were killed and approximately 10 were wounded. One other hostage that had been earlier moved to a hospital in Uganda was left behind and died. Around 33 to 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed during the raid, and about 11 Ugandan Army Air Force MiG-17 fighter planes were destroyed on the ground at Entebbe Airport.[4] The rescued hostages were flown to Israel via Nairobi, Kenya, shortly after the fighting.[4][7]

Ugandan reaction

Dora Bloch murder

Dora Bloch, a 75-year-old British Jewish immigrant, was taken to Mulago Hospital in Kampala, and was murdered by the Ugandan government, as were some of her doctors and nurses for apparently trying to intervene.[11] In April 1987, Henry Kyemba, Uganda's Attorney General and Minister of Justice at the time, told the Uganda Human Rights Commission that Bloch had been dragged from her hospital bed and murdered by two army officers on Idi Amin's orders.[28] Mrs Bloch had been shot and her body dumped in the trunk of a car which had Ugandan intelligence services number plates. Bloch's remains were recovered near a sugar plantation 20 miles (32 km) east of Kampala in 1979,[6] after the Ugandan–Tanzanian War led to the end of Amin's rule.[29]

Murder of Kenyans

Idi Amin was humiliated by the surprise raid. He believed Kenya colluded with Israel in planning the raid and soon afterwards massacred hundreds of Kenyans living in Uganda. This over-reaction further marginalized Amin on the African continent. Subsequently, Amin's regime began to break down, and two years later, he was forced into exile in Saudi Arabia. Amin died in Jeddah in August 2003.[30]

Aftermath

The government of Uganda, led by Juma Oris, the Ugandan Foreign Minister at the time, later convened a session of the United Nations Security Council to seek official condemnation of the Israeli raid,[31] as a violation of Ugandan sovereignty. The Security Council ultimately declined to pass any resolution on the matter, condemning neither Israel, nor Uganda. In his address to the Council, Israeli ambassador Chaim Herzog said:

We come with a simple message to the Council: we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people—men, women and children—but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom.[32][33]
—HERZOG, Chaim.

Israel received support from the Western World for its operation. West Germany called the raid "an act of self defense". Switzerland and France also praised Israel for the operation. Significant praise was received from representatives of the United Kingdom and the US both of whom called it "an impossible operation". Some in the United States noted that the hostages were freed on July 4, 1976 which was 200 years since the signing of the US declaration of independence.[34][35][36]

UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim described the raid as "a serious violation of the national sovereignty of a United Nations member state" (meaning Uganda). Dozens of Ugandan soldiers were killed in the raid. The Arab and Communist world condemned the operation calling it an act of aggression.

For refusing to depart (and subsequently leave some of his passengers as hostages) when given leave to do so by the hijackers, Captain Bacos was reprimanded by his superiors at Air France and suspended from duty for a period. He was awarded by Israel for his heroism of refusing to leave the Jewish hostages behind.[37]

In the ensuing years, Betser and the Netanyahu brothers—Iddo and Benjamin, all Sayeret Matkal veterans—argued in increasingly public forums about who was to blame for the unexpected early firefight which caused Yonatan Netanyahu's death and partial loss of tactical surprise.[38][39]

Nationalities

The aircraft was carrying 248 passengers and 12 crew members[10][note 2]—of which four passengers were killed and ten injured.[4][7] From the total of 260 people on board, 256 returned home safely.

The four passengers killed were:

  1. Jean-Jacques Maimoni—a 19-year-old French Jew who stood up while the Israeli commandos were eliminating the hijackers. They may have mistaken him for a hijacker.[11]
  2. Pasco Cohen—a 52-year-old manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, who was killed by gunfire, either from the hijackers or accidentally by the Israeli commandos.[11]
  3. Ida Borochovitch—a 56-year-old Russian Jew who had immigrated to Israel, killed in the crossfire.[11]
  4. Dora Bloch—a 75-year-old murdered by the Ugandan government at Mulago Hospital in Kampala while receiving treatment for a condition unrelated to the raid. Her remains were recovered near a sugar plantation 20 miles (32 km) east of Kampala in 1979.[29]

According to a list by Air France, most of the passengers were Israeli, French, American, and British citizens. All of the 105 hostages taken were Jews. The complete list is as follows:

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
 Belgium 4 0 4
 Brazil 2 0 2
 Denmark 2 0 2
 France 42 12 54
 Greece 25 0 25
 Germany 1 0 1
 Israel 92 0 92
 Italy 9 0 9
 Japan 1 0 1
 South Korea 1 0 1
 Spain 5 0 5
 United Kingdom 30 0 30
 United States 34 0 34
Total 248 12 260

Gallery

The old terminal building as it appears today.

The old terminal building as seen from the front.

Close up of the control tower.

Wall plaque on display at the old terminal building.

The old terminal building of the Entebbe International Airport as seen from the air.

Dramatisations

The incident was the subject of several films, two of which were U.S. productions with American/British casts; a third was produced in Israel with mostly Israeli actors in the key roles. The hijacking of Air France Flight AF139 and the subsequent rescue mission is featured in the documentary Operation Thunderbolt: Entebbe.[40] Below follow a complete list of films on the subjects:

Other depictions include:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources refer to the operation as Operation Jonathan rather than Operation Thunderbolt
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sources state varying numbers of passengers, between 228 and 248; the higher figure used is from the New York Times.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Smith, Terence (4 July 1976). "HOSTAGES FREED AS ISRAELIS RAID UGANDA AIRPORT; Commandos in 3 Planes Rescue 105-Casualties Unknown Israelis Raid Uganda Airport And Free Hijackers' Hostages". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60816FA38591B728DDDAD0894DF405B868BF1D3. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mossad took photos, Entebbe Operation was on its way.". Ynetnews. 2006. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269662,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Feldinger, Lauren Gelfond. "Back to Entebbe". Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885879544&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Hostage Rescue at the Raid on Entebbe". OperationEntebbe.Com. http://www.operationentebbe.com/p1_rescue.php. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  5. ↑ Middle Eastern terrorism, Mark Ensalaco p. 101 University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Body of Amin Victim Is Flown Back to Israel". New York Times. 4 June 1979, Monday, p. A3.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Operation Entebbe". The Knesset at Sixty. http://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/entebbi_eng.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  8. ↑ Dershowitz, Alan M. Preemption: A Knife that Cuts both Ways, W. W. Norton (2006) p. 91
  9. ↑ Houghton, David Patrick. U.S. Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis, Cambridge Univ. Press (2001) pp. 86-87
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 "General Dan Shomron—Times Online Obituary". London: The Times. 27 February 2008. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3440122.ece. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.9 Ben, Eyal (3 July 2006). "Special: Entebbe's unsung hero.". YNetNews.com. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3270314,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Woolly Days: Entebbe". 2 August 2006. http://nebuchadnezzarwoollyd.blogspot.com/2006/08/entebbe.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 David Tinnin, Like Father, Time (magazine), 8 August 1977. A review of Hitler's children by Julian Becker, Page 2
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The Entebbe Rescue Mission". Israel Defense Forces. Jewish Virtual Library. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/entebbe.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  15. ↑ "Vindication for the Israelis." Time Magazine. 26 July 1976]
  16. ↑ "War of Words over a Tense Border." Time Magazine. 26 July 1976.
  17. ↑ Grimes, Paul. "Rescuing the Entebbe Hostages." New York Times. Friday, 30 July 1976. (The Weekend, p. 51)
  18. ↑ Lipkin-Shakhak, Tali. "The Forgotten Hero of Entebbe" Maariv. 16 June 2006.
  19. ↑ Terence, Smith (4 July 1976). ""Hostages Freed as Israelis Raid Uganda Airport." New York Times. Sunday, 4 July 1976"]. The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60816FA38591B728DDDAD0894DF405B868BF1D3. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 
  20. ↑ Matan Vilnai: Deputy Minister of Defense. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Israel Defense Forces — Entebbe Diary". http://dover.idf.il/IDF/console/article_page.aspx?doc_id=23016&lang=english. 
  22. ↑ "The Rescue: 'We Do the Impossible'.". Time Magazine. Monday, 12 July 1976. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914272,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
  23. ↑ Preparation for the Raid on Entebbe Answers 2000 Ltd. Verified 14 Dec 2008.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Israel marks 30th anniversary of Entebbe." Associated Press in USA Today. 5 July 2006.
  25. ↑ Stevenson, William (1976). Ninety Minutes at Entebbe. New York: Bantam Books. pp. 100. ISBN 0-553-10482-9. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Remembering Entebbe,Larry Domnitch". The Jewish Press. 1 July 2009. http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/39910/. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  27. ↑ Operation Thunderball (Film Documentary)
  28. ↑ "The July 4 Entebbe rescue was a gift from Israel to the world". Judy Press. http://www.examiner.com/x-11015-Kansas-City-Jewish-Life-Examiner~y2009m7d3-The-July-4-Entebbe-rescue-was-a-gift-from-Israel-to-the-worldhttp://www.examiner.com/x-11015-Kansas-City-Jewish-Life-Examiner~y2009m7d3-The-July-4-Entebbe-rescue-was-a-gift-from-Israel-to-the-world. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Verkaik, Robert (13 February 2007). "Revealed: the fate of Idi Amin's hijack victim—Crime, UK—The Independent". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/revealed-the-fate-of-idi-amins-hijack-victim-436181.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
  30. ↑ "1976: Israelis rescue Entebbe hostages". BBC – On this day. 4 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2786000/2786967.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
  31. ↑ Teltsch, Kathleen. "Uganda Bids U.N. Condemn Israel for Airport Raid." New York Times. 10 July 1976. (Section: The Week In Review)
  32. ↑ Herzog, Chaim. Heroes of Israel. p. 284.
  33. ↑ Fendel, Hillel. "Israel Commemorates 30th Anniversary of Entebbe Rescue." Israel National News.
  34. ↑ "Age of Terror: Episode one". BBC News. 16 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7340000/newsid_7349900/7349983.stm?bw=nb&mp=wm&news=1&ms3=6&ms_javascript=true&bbcws=2. 
  35. ↑ [1]
  36. ↑ [2]
  37. ↑ Kaplan, David E. "A historic hostage-taking revisited." Jerusalem Post. 3 August 2006.
  38. ↑ Sharon Roffe-Ofir "Entebbe's open wound" Ynet, 7 February 2006
  39. ↑ Josh Hamerman "Battling against 'the falsification of history'" Ynet News, 4 February 2007
  40. ↑ McFadden, Robert. "6 Film Studios Vie Over Entebbe Raid." New York Times. 26 July 1976.
  41. ↑ Cohen, Peter-Adrian. "theatreor.com presents A WORLD PREMIERE from an Israeli Perspective". http://www.theatreor.com/. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  42. ↑ "Untitled Theater Co #61's Fest Of Jewish Theater & Ideas Runs". 20 May 2009. http://broadwayworld.com/article/Untitled_Theater_Co_61s_Fest_Of_Jewish_Theater_Ideas_Runs_520614_In_NYC_20090520. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 

Further reading

  • Dunstan, Simon (2009). Israel's Lighting Strike, The raid on Entebbe 1976. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-397-1. 
  • Hastings, Max. Yoni: Hero of Entebbe. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-27127-1. 
  • Netanyahu, Iddo. Yoni's Last Battle: The Rescue at Entebbe, 1976. Gefen Books. ISBN 965-229-283-4. 
  • Netanyahu, Ido; Netanyahu, ʻIdo; Netanyahu, Iddo; Hazony, Yoram (2003). Entebbe: the Jonathan Netanyahu story: a defining moment in the war on terrorism. Green Forest, AR: Balfour Books. ISBN 0-89221-553-4. 
  • Netanyahu, Jonathan; Netanyahu, Jonathna; Netanyahu, Binyamin; Netanyahu, Ido; Wouk, Herman. Self-Portrait of a Hero: From the Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu, 1963-1976. Warner Books Inc. ISBN 0-446-67461-3. 
  • Netanyahu, Jonathan. The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu : The Commander of the Entebbe Rescue Operation. Gefen Publishing House, Ltd. ISBN 965-229-267-2. 
  • Stevenson, William (1976). 90 minutes at Entebbe. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-10482-9. 

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Former states
People involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict
Lester B. Pearson • Abd al-Hakim Amer • Hosni Mubarak • Gamal Abdel Nasser • Anwar Sadat • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Ali Khamenei • Ruhollah Khomeini • Faisal I • Saddam Hussein • Ehud Barak • Menachem Begin • David Ben-Gurion • Moshe Dayan • Levi Eshkol • Golda Meir • Benjamin Netanyahu • Ehud Olmert • Shimon Peres • Yitzhak Rabin • Yitzhak Shamir • Ariel Sharon • Chaim Weizmann • King Abdullah I • King Abdullah II • King Hussein • Emile Lahoud • Hassan Nasrallah • Fouad Siniora • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • Mona Juul • Johan Jørgen Holst • Terje Rød-Larsen • Mahmoud Abbas • Yasser Arafat • Marwan Barghouti • George Habash • Ismail Haniya • Amin al-Husayni • Khaled Mashal • Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi • Ahmed Shukeiri • Ahmed Yassin • King Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) • King Abdullah • King Fahd • King Faisal • Folke Bernadotte • Hafez al-Assad • Bashar al-Assad • Shukri al-Quwatli • Salah Jadid • Ernest Bevin • Arthur Balfour • Tony Blair • Richard Crossman • Madeleine Albright • Ralph Bunche • George H. W. Bush • George W. Bush • Jimmy Carter • Bill Clinton • Henry Kissinger • Ronald Reagan • Condoleezza Rice • Dennis Ross • Harry S. Truman • Cyrus R. Vance
Arab-Israeli conflict engagements
Before 1947

1920 Jerusalem riots · 1921 Jaffa riots · 1929 Palestine riots · 1933 Palestine riots · 1936–1939 Arab revolt · 1938–1948 British–Zionist conflict (not related with Arabs)
1947–1949

1947 Jerusalem riots · 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine · 1948 Arab–Israeli War
1950s

1950s terrorism against Israel · Fedayeen · Retribution operations
1953 Qibya massacre · 1954 Operation Susannah · 1956 Suez Crisis
1960s

1962–1970 Operations Porcupine and Gravy (North Yemen Civil War) · 1964–1967 War over Water · 1966 Samu incident · 1967 Six-Day War · 1967–1970 War of Attrition · 1968 Battle of Karameh · 1968 Operation Gift 1969 Cherbourg Project
1970s

1970 Black September in Jordan · 1972 Sabena Flight 571 (Operation Isotope) · 1972 Operation Crate 3 · 1972 Munich Olympics massacre · 1972–1979 Operation Wrath of God · 1972 Israeli aerial raid on Lebanon · 1973 Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 · 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon · 1973 Yom Kippur War · 1974 Ma'alot massacre · 1975 Savoy Operation · 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War · 1976 Operation Entebbe · 1978 Coastal Road massacre · 1978 Operation Litani
1980s

1980 Misgav Am hostages rescue · 1981 Operation Opera · 1982 Lebanon War · 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict · 1984 Kav 300 affair · 1985 PLO ships bombing · 1985 Operation Wooden Leg · 1987–1990 First Intifada · 1988 Tunis raid · 1989 Sheik Abdul-Karim Obeid kidnapping
1990s

1991 Gulf War · 1992 Operation Bramble Bush · 1992 Abbas al-Musawi killing · 1993–present Palestinian suicide attacks · 1993 Lebanon war · 1994 Airstrike on Lebanon · 1994 Mustafa Dirani kidnapping · 1994 Waxman rescue attempt · 1996 Lebanon war
2000s

2000–2005 Al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada) · 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict · 2001–present Rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel (2001-2006 · 2007 · 2008 · Gaza War · 2009 · 2010) · 2001 Santorini · 2002 Operation Noah's Ark · 2002 Operation Defensive Shield (Jenin · Nablus · Bethlehem) · 2002 Operation Determined Path · 2003–present West Bank barrier · 2003 Abu Hassan · 2003 Ain es Saheb airstrike · 2004 Israel–Gaza conflict · 2004 Operation Rainbow · 2004 Operation Days of Penitence · 2005 Shevet Ahim · 2006–present Fatah–Hamas conflict · 2006 Operation Bringing Home the Goods · 2006 Operation Summer Rains · 2006 Operation Autumn Clouds · 2006 Lebanon War · 2006–present Lebanese rockets · 2007–2008 Israel–Gaza conflict · 2007–present Blockade of the Gaza Strip · 2007 Operation Orchard · 2008 Operation Hot Winter · 2008–2009 Gaza War · 2009 Sudan airstrikes · 2009 Francop affair (Operation Four Species)
2010s

2010 Gaza flotilla raid (ships · participants · reactions · legal assessments) · 2010 Adaisseh incident
Diplomacy and peace proposals in the Arab–Israeli conflict
Damascus Protocol • McMahon–Hussein Correspondence • Sykes–Picot Agreement • 1917 Balfour Declaration • Declaration to the Seven • Anglo-French Declaration • 1919 Faisal-Weizmann Agreement • 1920 San Remo conference • 1922 Churchill White Paper • 1939 White Paper • 1947 UN Partition Plan • 1948 Establishment of Israel • 1948 UNGA Resolution 194 • 1949 Armistice Agreements • 1964 Palestinian National Covenant • 1967 Khartoum Resolution • 1967 UNSC Resolution 242 • 1973 UNSC Resolution 338 • 1973 UNSC Resolution 339 • 1974 UNSC Resolution 350 • 1978 UNSC Resolution 425 • 1978 Camp David Accords • 1979 UNSC Resolution 446 • 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty • 1979 UNSC Resolution 452 • 1980 UNSC Resolution 478 • 1981 UNSC Resolution 497 • 1983 Israel-Lebanon agreement • 1991 Madrid Conference • 1993 Oslo Accords • 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace • 1998 Wye River Memorandum • 2000 Camp David Summit • 2000 Clinton's Parameters • 2001 Taba Summit • 2001 UNSC Resolution 1373 • 2002 Beirut Summit and Peace Initiative • 2002 Road map for peace • 2003 Geneva Accord • 2004 UNSC Resolution 1559 • 2004 UNSC Resolution 1566 • 2005 UNSC Resolution 1583 • 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh Summit • 2005 Israel's unilateral disengagement plan • 2006 Palestinian Prisoners' Document • 2006 UNSC Resolution 1701 • 2007 Annapolis Conference • 2010 Israeli–Palestinian peace talks
Israel Defense Forces