By Owei Lakemfa
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is in Africa this week soaking in accolades on the 40th commemoration of the Entebbe Raid. The Entebbe story is the stuff of legends. It was presumably, a humanitarian mission to rescue hostages, save innocent lives and give a bloody nose to the air piracy version of international terrorism.
The planning of the raid was clearly the work of master minds. So it is not surprising that it gave birth to films and documentaries like Operation Thunder: The Entebbe Raid, Raid on Entebbe and Delta Force. This is the famous perspective of Israel and its supporters.
The planning of the raid was clearly the work of master minds. So it is not surprising that it gave birth to films and documentaries like Operation Thunder: The Entebbe Raid, Raid on Entebbe and Delta Force. This is the famous perspective of Israel and its supporters.
However, there is also the angle of the Palestinians in whose name, and for who’s cause the hijacking took place. While Netanyahu is in Africa serenading leaders from Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda and Tanzania about the Entebbe raid and the heroism of his elder brother, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed in the raid, he seems oblivious of the fact that the reasons that led to the hijacking have not been addressed, that the Palestinian struggles have developed beyond hijacking to Intifada and wars that carry the battle right into Israel rather than some faraway places.
The Entebbe story began on June 27,1976 when an Air France airline with 248 souls, flying from Tel Aviv to Paris, was hijacked by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and two Germans from the Revolutionary Cell. They diverted the aircraft to Entebbe, the main Ugandan airport and demanded the release of 40 Palestinians held in Israeli jails and 13 prisoners held in four other countries.
At Entebbe, Israelis and Jews were separated from other passengers. Eventually, 148 of the non-Israeli hostages were released, leaving 94 Israelis and the 12-member Air France crew. There were political negotiations to end the hostage crisis, two of them initiated by then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Chair, Yasser Arafat.
At Entebbe, Israelis and Jews were separated from other passengers. Eventually, 148 of the non-Israeli hostages were released, leaving 94 Israelis and the 12-member Air France crew. There were political negotiations to end the hostage crisis, two of them initiated by then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Chair, Yasser Arafat.
As the crisis wore on, the Israeli government decided to execute a rescue option. It got a replica of the airport from the Israeli construction firm, Solel Boneh which had built it. Gathered intelligence, using as base, neigbouring Kenya whose then President, Jomo Kenyatta also offered logistical support including the use of Nairobi Airport. It got first-hand information about the hijackers and the weapons they were using from the freed hostages. It then flew 100 commandos over 4,000 kilometres to Entebbe in what was code named Operation Thunderbolt.
During the raid, 102 hostages were freed and flown out, three hostages were killed in cross fire, 45 Ugandan soldiers and Colonel Netanyahu were also killed. Seventy-five-year old Dora Bloch, who was away in a hospital during the raid, was later killed by the Ugandans. A revelation was that the hijackers, even when the raid was on, did not attempt to hurt the hostages. In fact, when the Israeli commandos were engaged in a shootout with Ugandan soldiers as they advanced towards the terminal building where the hostages were, one of the hijackers, Wilfried Bose, gun in hand, ran into the hall the hostages were kept and directed them to take shelter in the rest room to be out of harm’s way, before engaging the commandos. The other hijackers were in the main hall, and did not appear to have been interested in entering the hall the hostages were kept.
At the United Nations where the raid was discussed, then Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim described the raid as a serious violation of the sovereignty of a member nation although he said he understood the circumstances. The Ugandans, whose air fleet was destroyed by the departing Israeli commandos, claimed that there was no need for the raid as a peaceful resolution was in sight. But the Israelis argued that only a military solution saved the hostages. At the end of the debates, the UN neither condemned nor praised the raid; both sides had lots of supporters.
It is 40 years since those memorable events, but tragically, the reason and circumstances that gave rise to the hijacking, the Palestinian Question, remains virtually unaddressed. Today, as was 40 years ago, Palestinian lands remain occupied by Israel; perhaps the main difference is that illegal Israeli settlements are now being built on them. As it was four decades ago, peace eludes both nations; Palestinian refugees are denied return to their ancestral homes, many Palestinians are held captive in Israeli jails, the Israeli blockage remains, East Jerusalem, which is indigenous to Palestinians, remains incorporated as part of greater Israel, and the Palestinians are still denied their homeland. On the other hand, the Israelis have known no peace for seven decades, and continue to live as a people with a siege mentality.
As Netanyahu said, Entebbe raid was heroic, but for me, it was not heroic for those who were killed or who have needlessly lost their lives in the years since Entebbe. Since Entebbe, the Israeli pariah status around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and the Middle East has changed. Changed so much that it could this week, sign a joint declaration with seven African states on the war against terrorism.
While this is quite positive, it is time Israel listened to wise counsel especially by its main ally, the United States, that it toes the path of peace by allowing a two-state solution; a secure Israeli State, and a free Palestinian homeland. After about 70 years of conflicts and 40 years after Entebbe, humanity should rest the divisive politics in the Middle East. Also, all those in jail over the Palestinian struggle whether in Israel or outside it, should be freed. For instance, France should pardon the 67-year-old Venezuelan internationalist, Illich Ramirez Sanchez alias Carlos, the Jackal who has been in its jails for 22 years now. His two life sentences are linked to his struggles for the Palestinian cause. We cannot walk towards peace only as conquerors; humanity must be joint winners.