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| Binyamin Netanyahu visits scene of brother's 1976 Entebbe airport death | Binyamin Netanyahu visits scene of brother's 1976 Entebbe airport death |
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| Binyamin Netanyahu has made an emotionally charged visit to Uganda’s Entebbe airport, where his brother Yonatan was killed 40 years ago leading a daring commando raid to free Israeli hostages. | |
| After an Israeli band played on the shore of Lake Victoria, the prime minister stood in silence with the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, as a relative of one of the hostages lit a memorial flame. | After an Israeli band played on the shore of Lake Victoria, the prime minister stood in silence with the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, as a relative of one of the hostages lit a memorial flame. |
| Three hostages, 45 Ugandan soldiers and all the hijackers were were killed during the rescue. Among the dead were Yonatan, or Yoni as he was known, who had been newly installed as the head of Israel’s elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit and planned and took part in the raid. | Three hostages, 45 Ugandan soldiers and all the hijackers were were killed during the rescue. Among the dead were Yonatan, or Yoni as he was known, who had been newly installed as the head of Israel’s elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit and planned and took part in the raid. |
| The Ugandan dictator Idi Amin had warmly welcomed the hijack of Air France Flight 139 from Tel Aviv by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two Germans. | The Ugandan dictator Idi Amin had warmly welcomed the hijack of Air France Flight 139 from Tel Aviv by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two Germans. |
| Related: 'We thought this would be the end of us': the raid on Entebbe, 40 years on | Related: 'We thought this would be the end of us': the raid on Entebbe, 40 years on |
| While many of the hostages were freed by the hijackers, Israelis and non-Israeli Jews were taken off the aircraft and held under armed guard in an old terminal building, later stormed by Israeli special forces. | While many of the hostages were freed by the hijackers, Israelis and non-Israeli Jews were taken off the aircraft and held under armed guard in an old terminal building, later stormed by Israeli special forces. |
| On the first day of an African tour, Netanyahu said the rescue on 3 July 1976 had “changed the course” of his life and that “international terrorism suffered a stinging defeat”. He said: “This is a deeply moving day for me. Forty years ago, they landed in the dead of night in a country led by a brutal dictator who gave refuge to terrorists. Today, we landed in broad daylight in a friendly country led by a president who fights terrorists.” | On the first day of an African tour, Netanyahu said the rescue on 3 July 1976 had “changed the course” of his life and that “international terrorism suffered a stinging defeat”. He said: “This is a deeply moving day for me. Forty years ago, they landed in the dead of night in a country led by a brutal dictator who gave refuge to terrorists. Today, we landed in broad daylight in a friendly country led by a president who fights terrorists.” |
| The raid was a humiliation for Amin, who was deposed three years later with the help of Tanzanian and Ugandan exile forces, one of which was led by Museveni. | The raid was a humiliation for Amin, who was deposed three years later with the help of Tanzanian and Ugandan exile forces, one of which was led by Museveni. |
| Netanyahu, who will also visit Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, is hoping to establish a new partnership with the region, building on a common goal of defeating jihadi terrorism. He hopes to achieve closer commercial ties, including the sale of Israeli weapons and security expertise, and will be seeking a more supportive role by African nations, most of whom have consistently backed Palestinian bids for statehood in the UN general assembly. | Netanyahu, who will also visit Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia, is hoping to establish a new partnership with the region, building on a common goal of defeating jihadi terrorism. He hopes to achieve closer commercial ties, including the sale of Israeli weapons and security expertise, and will be seeking a more supportive role by African nations, most of whom have consistently backed Palestinian bids for statehood in the UN general assembly. |
| The run-up to the trip has not been entirely free of controversy. While many Ugandans do not, in hindsight, see the Entebbe raid as a disaster because of their hatred of Amin, Moses Ali, Uganda’s deputy prime minister, who served under Amin, suggested that its people should be “mourning their dead ones” rather than merely celebrating an “Israeli victory”. | The run-up to the trip has not been entirely free of controversy. While many Ugandans do not, in hindsight, see the Entebbe raid as a disaster because of their hatred of Amin, Moses Ali, Uganda’s deputy prime minister, who served under Amin, suggested that its people should be “mourning their dead ones” rather than merely celebrating an “Israeli victory”. |
| Related: Obama hails Elie Wiesel as 'conscience of the world' amid leaders' tributes | Related: Obama hails Elie Wiesel as 'conscience of the world' amid leaders' tributes |
| In Israel, the anniversary has revived longstanding disputes over whether sufficient credit for the raid was given to others beside Yonatan Netanyahu. And while his role is acknowledged as heroic, some, including his second in command Muky Betser, have suggested that his unit did not need to shoot at two Ugandan soldiers, thus unwittingly starting a firefight. | In Israel, the anniversary has revived longstanding disputes over whether sufficient credit for the raid was given to others beside Yonatan Netanyahu. And while his role is acknowledged as heroic, some, including his second in command Muky Betser, have suggested that his unit did not need to shoot at two Ugandan soldiers, thus unwittingly starting a firefight. |
| Some critics of Netanyahu urged him not to exploit the raid. An editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Monday said that, despite the expected success of the diplomatic and economic contacts, “it’s hard to shake off the impression that the entire trip would not be taking place were it not for Netanyahu’s desire … to conduct a ceremony in the old Entebbe airport.” | Some critics of Netanyahu urged him not to exploit the raid. An editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Monday said that, despite the expected success of the diplomatic and economic contacts, “it’s hard to shake off the impression that the entire trip would not be taking place were it not for Netanyahu’s desire … to conduct a ceremony in the old Entebbe airport.” |