Israeli PM Netanyahu pays homage to elder brother at Entebbe Airport,where he was killed by terrorists
Wed Jul 06, 2016 11:53:am World
3.8K By Buchi Obichie
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, began an African tour on Monday, attending a memorial service at Entebbe Airport in Uganda where his commando brother was killed 40years ago, while rescuing Israeli's who had been taken as hostages by terrorists an event which PM Netanyahu has said shaped his future.
In 1976, Lt. Col Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu led an assault team of 29 commandos who stormed the Entebbe Airport terminal to rescue Israelis and Air Flight Crew who had been on board an Air France flight diverted to Uganda by Palestinian and German hijackers.
Speaking at Entebbe Airport, PM Netanyahu said: "I am touched to stand in this place, this very place, where my brother, Yoni, fell. "Entebbe is always with me, in my thoughts, in my consciousness, deep in my heart."
Whilst a new terminal now serves the airport at Entebbe, the old building where the hostages were held in 1976, still stands.
Some former Israeli commandos involved in the 1976 raid also attended the ceremony.
Yoni Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's elder brother, was the only Israeli soldier killed in the raid. The hijackers, three hostages and dozens of Ugandan soldiers died.
Scores of Israeli hostages were freed. Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin, in power at that time, broke ties with Israel after the raid.
"My brother's death changed my life and directed it to its present course," he said in an interview with Newsweek in 2012.
Speaking on Monday before talks with President Yoweri Museveni, Netanyahu said, "Exactly 40 years ago, Israel soldiers carried out a historic mission in Entebbe.
"Forty years ago they landed in the dead of the night in a country led by a brutal dictator. Today we landed in broad day light in a friendly country led by a president who fights terrorists."
Uganda has been targeted by Somali Islamist group, al Shabaab, which has said it wants to drive out Ugandan and other soldiers fighting with an African Union peace force in Somalia.
Netanyahu was accompanied by an 80-strong delegation of Israeli business executives from more than 50 companies.
After talks with Museveni, he was to attend a summit with leaders from Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Zambia.
"Africa is a continent on the rise. Israel looks forward to strengthening ties with all its countries," he said.
In 1976, Lt. Col Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu led an assault team of 29 commandos who stormed the Entebbe Airport terminal to rescue Israelis and Air Flight Crew who had been on board an Air France flight diverted to Uganda by Palestinian and German hijackers.
Speaking at Entebbe Airport, PM Netanyahu said: "I am touched to stand in this place, this very place, where my brother, Yoni, fell. "Entebbe is always with me, in my thoughts, in my consciousness, deep in my heart."
Whilst a new terminal now serves the airport at Entebbe, the old building where the hostages were held in 1976, still stands.
Some former Israeli commandos involved in the 1976 raid also attended the ceremony.
Yoni Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's elder brother, was the only Israeli soldier killed in the raid. The hijackers, three hostages and dozens of Ugandan soldiers died.
Scores of Israeli hostages were freed. Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin, in power at that time, broke ties with Israel after the raid.
"My brother's death changed my life and directed it to its present course," he said in an interview with Newsweek in 2012.
Speaking on Monday before talks with President Yoweri Museveni, Netanyahu said, "Exactly 40 years ago, Israel soldiers carried out a historic mission in Entebbe.
"Forty years ago they landed in the dead of the night in a country led by a brutal dictator. Today we landed in broad day light in a friendly country led by a president who fights terrorists."
Uganda has been targeted by Somali Islamist group, al Shabaab, which has said it wants to drive out Ugandan and other soldiers fighting with an African Union peace force in Somalia.
Netanyahu was accompanied by an 80-strong delegation of Israeli business executives from more than 50 companies.
After talks with Museveni, he was to attend a summit with leaders from Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Zambia.
"Africa is a continent on the rise. Israel looks forward to strengthening ties with all its countries," he said.
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