Statue of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Brother Who Was Killed in Africa Unveiled
- Uganda's army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba presided over the unveiling of a statue honouring the Israeli commando killed in the 1976 Entebbe rescue
- The monument stands outside the old airport terminal where elite Israeli soldiers freed over 100 hostages in an operation lasting less than 90 minutes
- Kainerugaba acknowledged the painful history between Uganda and Israel while pointing to the two countries' now close bilateral ties
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Uganda has unveiled a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu, the Israeli commando and older brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the site of the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue, marking 50 years since the dramatic operation.
The monument, which shows Netanyahu striding forward carrying a machine gun, was erected outside the old terminal building at Entebbe's international airport, where Israeli commandos freed more than 100 hostages on July 4, 1976.
Source: Getty Images
Yonatan Netanyahu was the only Israeli soldier killed during the rescue.
According to BBC, Uganda's army chief and son of former president Yoweri Museveni, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said the statue honoured Netanyahu's "courage and selfless service" and described the Entebbe episode as "one of the most significant episodes in modern history."
Yonatan Netanyahu: How Entebbe crisis unfolded
The crisis began on June 27, 1976, when an Air France flight that had departed Tel Aviv made a stopover in Athens, where hijackers from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine boarded the aircraft along with two German accomplices.
They seized control and forced the plane to divert first to Libya for refuelling, then on to Uganda, where the then-dictator Idi Amin welcomed it upon landing.
The hijackers demanded $5 million and the release of 53 militants held across Israel, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Kenya. They freed a number of hostages on June 30 and July 1, but kept Israeli and Jewish passengers on board.
On July 3, Israeli elite commandos flew in via Kenya and stormed the terminal in an operation that lasted under 90 minutes. Three hostages, Jean-Jacques Mimouni, Pasco Cohen, and Ida Borochovitch, died during the raid. A fourth, Dora Bloch, was later murdered in a Kampala hospital while receiving treatment there. All the hijackers and three accomplices, as well as at least 45 Ugandan soldiers, were killed in the fighting.
Uganda and Israel's current ties
Kainerugaba acknowledged that the events of 1976 represented "a painful chapter in our history" but said the relationship between the two countries had since grown into "a remarkable journey" built on "mutual trust, respect and co-operation."
Speaking about the Ugandan soldiers killed while serving under Amin's government, he said they had "fought valiantly... in what they believed was a justified cause," before adding that Amin's regime "was a brutal dictatorship which did not represent the Ugandan people."
Kainerugaba also paid tribute to all those who lost their lives during the crisis. "May their memories continue to inspire future generations in the pursuit of peace, justice and human dignity," he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Entebbe about a decade ago, where he reflected on his brother's legacy:
"I learned from my brother that you need two things to defeat the terrorists: clarity and courage."
Netanyahu will not face arrest in US
Legit.ng earlier reported that US President Donald Trump dismissed suggestions that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested during his upcoming visit to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly in September.
His comments came after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration was exploring whether it had any legal authority to act against Netanyahu.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
