KAMPALA, Uganda — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s raid on Uganda’s Entebbe airport 40 years ago, in which his brother was killed, “changed the course” of his life and had a lasting influence on his country’s relations with Africa.
Speaking shortly after his arrival in Uganda, Netanyahu praised Israel’s commando raid on the airport which freed Israeli hostages from a hijacked plane. “International terrorism suffered a stinging defeat,” he said of the mission in July 1976.
The Entebbe rescue is a seminal event in Israeli history and is widely seen as one of the country’s greatest military successes. It also was a monumental event for Netanyahu, as the death of his brother, Yonatan, pushed him into the public eye and on a track that would take him to the country’s highest office.
An Israeli band played somber tunes at the airport on the shore of Lake Victoria to mark the anniversary of the Israeli rescue mission, during which three hostages were killed. A relative of one of the Israeli hostages lit a memorial flame as Netanyahu and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stood in silence.
Netanyahu traveled to Uganda with soldiers and pilots who were members of the rescue team.
“This is a deeply moving day for me,” he said. “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.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Uganda starts his four-nation tour of Africa. He will also visit Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
“After many decades, I can say unequivocally Israel is coming back to Africa and Africa is coming back to Israel,” he said. “All of our peoples will benefit greatly from our growing partnership.”
Museveni said his government opposes the “indiscriminate use of violence” as well as bigotry. He said Uganda’s government supports a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“The two of you belong to that area,” Museveni said, urging both sides to live “side by side in two states … in peace and with recognized borders.”
Netanyahu later attended a summit meeting of regional leaders focusing on security and the fight against Islamic extremists. In addition to Netanyahu and Museveni, the meeting was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. A communique at the end of the meeting said the leaders “emphasized the need for increased regional and international cooperation in all fields, including cybersecurity and information gathering to confront this scourge.”
Entebbe International Airport is where Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was struck by a bullet as he led Israeli commandos in a daring rescue mission to rescue hijacked Israeli passengers. Israel’s success in the raid humiliated then-Ugandan President Idi Amin.
