Operation Entebbe: The History and Legacy of Israel’s Most Famous Rescue Operation

*Includes pictures
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
*Includes a table of contents

“From the blood-drenched history of the Jewish nation, we learn that violence which begins with the murder of Jews ends with the spread of violence and danger to all people, in all nations. We have no choice but to strike at terrorist organizations wherever we can reach them. That is our obligation to ourselves and to peace.” – Golda Meir

“July 4, 1976, was a great day to be an American, and a great day to be Jewish, and was, I am assured, an absolutely sensational day to be American and Jewish.” – George Will

During the Six Day War in 1967, Israeli forces struck suddenly into Sinai in response to Egyptian violation of an earlier treaty agreement allowing Israeli ships passage through the important Straits of Tiran. In a lightning campaign, the well-trained and well-led Israeli forces, equipped with American and French vehicles and aircraft, shattered the low quality Egyptian army forces decisively. When Jordan and Syria attacked Israel in support of Egypt, the Israelis smashed their forces also. Israel acquired most of the Sinai, as well as occupying the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights.

Since the Six Day War had established Israel’s military supremacy, Palestinian opposition developed a new strategy, and a greater emphasis began to be placed on covert, guerrilla actions against Israel and the development of organizations to carry out such attacks. On May 8, 1972, a new style of warfare came to the fore when 4 members of the Black September Organization, an amorphous branch of the Fatah movement, hijacked Belgian Sabena Flight 571 en route from Brussels to Tel Aviv. To buy time, the Israeli security establishment agreed to allow Flight 571 to land at Lod International Airport, southeast of Tel Aviv, where it was immediately escorted to the far end of the tarmac. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan was joined at the airport by Transport Minister Shimon Peres, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General David Elazar, and several other senior IDF officers and government officials. The head of the interrogation branch of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, engaged the four terrorists – two men and two women – in spurious negotiations while it was decided what would be done. The demands made by the hijackers were quite simple: the release of 315 Palestinians convicted of terror offenses who were currently being held in Israeli prisons. Although negotiations were initiated, the Israelis had no intention whatsoever of acceding to any demands. The process was obfuscated and deliberately strung out simply to deprive the four hijackers of sleep, and to allow time for a rescue operation to be mounted.

Hijackings and similar attacks only increased in number and violence in the following years. In response, the Israelis instituted a policy of an “eye for an eye,” destroying Arab aircraft whenever the Palestinians or others damaged or destroyed one of their own. They also established a custom of refusing to negotiate with hostage-takers and terrorists, while greatly increasing security measures surrounding their national airline, El Al.

Nonetheless, the violence only increased after the Israelis won the Yom Kippur War of 1973 in spite of early Arab successes. In the process of countering these attacks and hijackings, the Israelis developed valuable skills in commando operations and hostage rescue. This experience stood them in good stead in the summer of 1976, when a large-scale hijacking led to a daring Israeli operation thousands of miles from the Levant at the Ugandan airport of Entebbe, then part of the domain of dictator Idi “Big Daddy” Amin.

Operation Entebbe: The History and Legacy of Israel’s Most Famous Rescue Operation looks at one of the most dramatic commando operations of all time. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Entebbe like never before.