One Israel ( Hebrew : ישראל אחת , Yisrael Ahat ) was an alliance of the Labor Party , Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections .
99-533: One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the aim of making Labor appear more centrist and to reduce its secularist and elitist reputation amongst Mizrahi voters (Gesher was led by prominent Mizrahi politician and former Likud MK David Levy whilst Meimad is a religious party) modelled on Tony Blair 's transformation of the British Labour Party into New Labour . The coalition agreement gave Gesher
198-609: A kibbutz , Barak is the eldest of four sons; his grandparents were murdered in the Holocaust . He graduated in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later obtained a master's in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University . Barak's military career in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began in 1959, spanning 35 years and culminating in his appointment as Chief of
297-438: A 19-year-old French immigrant to Israel, stood up and was killed when Muki Betser and another soldier mistook him for a hijacker and fired at him. Another hostage, Pasco Cohen, 52, was also fatally wounded by gunfire from the commandos. In addition, a third hostage, 56-year-old Ida Borochovitch, a Russian Jew who had emigrated to Israel , was killed by a hijacker in the crossfire. According to hostage Ilan Hartuv, Wilfried Böse
396-722: A 74-year-old Israeli who also held British citizenship, was taken to Mulago Hospital in Kampala after choking on a chicken bone. After the raid she was murdered by officers of the Uganda Army, as were some of her doctors and nurses, apparently for trying to intervene. In April 1987, Henry Kyemba , Uganda's Attorney general and Minister of Justice at the time, told the Uganda Human Rights Commission that Bloch had been dragged from her hospital bed and killed by two army officers on Amin's orders. Bloch
495-574: A breakaway party, Independence , which enabled him to maintain his loyal Labor's MK faction within Netanyahu's government, and prevented the departure of Labor party as a whole from Netanyahu's coalition-government. Labor previously threatened to force Barak to do so. After Barak's move, Netanyahu was able to maintain a majority of 66 MK (out of 120 in the Knesset ), previously having 74 MKs within his majority coalition. In February 2011, Barak attended
594-1002: A ceremony at the UN for the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Barak told the UN General Assembly that "an independent, strong, thriving and peaceful State of Israel is the vengeance of the dead." Barak's Independence party was due to run in a legislative election , but decided not to in 2012, and retired from politics. Barak planned to quit since Operation Pillar of Defense but postponed it until later that year. Barak stated during an American television interview that he would "probably" strive for nuclear weapons if he were in Iran's position, adding "I don't delude myself that they are doing it just because of Israel". This comment has been criticized and compared to Barak's comment in 1998 during
693-647: A crew of 12. The plane flew to Athens, Greece, where it picked up an additional 58 passengers, including four hijackers. It departed for Paris at 12:30 pm. Just after takeoff, the flight was hijacked by two Palestinians from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO), and by two Germans, Wilfried Böse and Brigitte Kuhlmann , from the German Revolutionary Cells . The hijackers diverted
792-453: A declaration and formulated their demands. In addition to a ransom of US$ 5 million for the release of the airplane, they demanded the release of 53 Palestinian and pro-Palestinian militants, 40 of whom were prisoners in Israel. They threatened that if these demands were not met, they would begin to kill hostages on 1 July 1976. On 29 June, after Ugandan soldiers had opened an entrance to
891-455: A giant rental apartment in a luxury high rise." Barak said he currently earns more than a $ 1 million a year, and that from 2001 to 2007, he also earned more than a $ 1 million every year, from giving lectures and from consulting for hedge funds . Barak also said he made millions of dollars more from his investments in Israeli real estate properties. In the interview, Barak was asked whether he
990-675: A member of the Knesset . Outside of his political and military career, Barak has accumulated wealth through business endeavors and investments; his net worth is estimated to be $ 10–15 million. Ehud Barak was born on kibbutz Mishmar HaSharon in what was then Mandatory Palestine . He is the eldest of four sons of Esther (née Godin; 25 June 1914 – 12 August 2013) and Yisrael Mendel Brog (24 August 1910 – 8 February 2002). His paternal grandparents, Frieda and Reuven Brog, were murdered in Pušalotas (Pushelat) in northern Lithuania (then ruled by Russian Empire ) in 1912, leaving his father orphaned at
1089-658: A new government following Rabin's assassination in November 1995, Barak was made Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995–96). He was elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list in 1996 , and served as a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Following internal elections after Peres' defeat in the election for Prime Minister in 1996, Barak became the leader of the Labor Party. In
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#17327724717191188-739: A new party named the Israel Democratic Party , intending to challenge Netanyahu in the September 2019 Israeli legislative election . The party ran with Meretz and other parties in the Democratic Union alliance, which received five seats. Barak himself did not enter the Knesset. In an interview with Haaretz reported in January 2015, Barak was asked to explain the source of his "big" capital, with which he "bought 5 apartments and connected them," and by which he "lives in
1287-534: A plane and flew back to Uganda. An ex-agent of Uganda's intelligence service, the State Research Bureau , also claimed that Amin was informed by Lumago of the imminent raid. The agent stated that Amin was terrified of possible reprisals in case his troops actually fought the Israeli military, allegedly resulting in his ordering that the Uganda Army should not open fire on Israeli aircraft during
1386-430: A plaque bearing a history of the raid. The ceremony was attended by Ugandan State Minister for Animal Industry Bright Rwamirama and the deputy Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Daniel Ayalon , who laid wreaths at the site. Forty years to the day after the rescue operation, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, brother of slain Israeli commando Yonatan Netanyahu, visited Entebbe with an Israeli delegation, and laid
1485-542: A possible raid. Mossad built an accurate picture of the whereabouts of the hostages, the number of hijackers, and the involvement of Ugandan troops, based on information from the released hostages in Paris. Further, Israeli firms had been involved in construction projects in Africa during the 1960s and 1970s: while preparing the raid, the Israeli army consulted with Solel Boneh , a large Israeli construction firm that had built
1584-537: A room next to the crowded waiting hall by destroying a separating wall, the hijackers separated the Israelis (including those holding dual citizenship) from the other hostages and told them to move to the adjoining room. As they did so, a Holocaust survivor showed hijacker Wilfried Böse a camp registration number tattooed on his arm. Böse protested "I'm no Nazi! ... I am an idealist." In addition, five non-Israeli hostages – two ultra-orthodox Jewish couples from
1683-449: A small ceremony in his private residence. In his spare time, Barak enjoys reading works by writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , and he is a classical pianist, with many years of study behind him. Barak earned his bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1968, and his master's degree in engineering-economic systems in 1978 from Stanford University , California . Barak joined
1782-551: A special envoy to negotiate with the hostage takers and with Amin. However, the PFLP-EO hijackers refused to see him. When Israeli authorities failed to negotiate a political solution, they decided that their only option was an attack to rescue the hostages. Lt. Col. Joshua Shani , lead pilot of the operation, later said that the Israelis had initially conceived of a rescue plan that involved dropping naval commandos into Lake Victoria . The commandos would have ridden rubber boats to
1881-410: A television interview when he said that if he were a Palestinian he would probably have joined one of the terror organizations. In 2023 it was revealed that Barak had visited Jeffrey Epstein around 30 times from 2013 to 2017 and had also flown on his jet, having first met Epstein in 2003. Barak denied any wrongdoing. On 26 June 2019, Barak announced his return to politics and his intention to form
1980-540: A threat to Israeli unity and that they may lead Israeli society into a "dark and dangerous place". After winning back the leadership of the Labor party, Barak was sworn in as Minister of Defense on 18 June 2007, as part of Prime Minister Olmert 's cabinet reshuffle. However, on 1 July 2007, Barak led a successful effort in the Labor central committee to stipulate that Labor would leave the government coalition if Olmert did not resign by September or October 2007. At that time
2079-548: Is a lobbyist who earns a living from "opening doors". The interviewer stated "You have arrived recently at the Kazakhstan despot Nazarbayev and the president of Ghana . You are received immediately." Barak confirmed that he has been received by these heads of state but denied earning money from opening doors for international business deals for Israeli and foreign corporations, and said he does not see any ethical or moral problems in his business activities. He further said there
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#17327724717192178-726: Is an apartheid state ." As part of these negotiations, Barak took part in the Camp David 2000 Summit which was meant finally to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict but failed. Barak also allowed Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami to attend the Taba Summit with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority , after his government had fallen. On 22 August 1999, Barak appointed the Tal committee which dealt with
2277-447: Is no logic to demand of him, after "the natural process in democracy has ended" to not utilize the tools he accumulated in his career to secure his financial future. When asked if his financial worth is $ 10–15 million, Barak said "I'm not far from there." Entebbe raid International incidents The Entebbe raid or Operation Entebbe , officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt (retroactively codenamed Operation Yonatan ),
2376-695: Is today Jomo Kenyatta International Airport . Kenyan Minister of Agriculture Bruce MacKenzie persuaded Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta to permit Mossad to collect intelligence prior to the operation, and to allow the Israeli Air Force access to the Nairobi airport. MacKenzie's support for the operation came after Sir Maurice Oldfield , the then head of Britain's MI6 intelligence agency, put his contacts in Mossad in touch with MacKenzie, who had been an MI6 contact for some time. The Jewish owner of
2475-426: The 1999 Prime Ministerial election , Barak beat Benjamin Netanyahu by a wide margin. However, he sparked controversy by deciding to form a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox party Shas , who had won an unprecedented 17 seats in the 120-seat Knesset . Shas grudgingly agreed to Barak's terms that they eject their leader Aryeh Deri , a convicted felon, and enact reform to "clean up" in-party corruption. Consequentially,
2574-755: The Battle of the Chinese Farm . He went on to command the 401st armored brigade and the 611st "Pillar of Fire" and 252nd "Sinai" divisions, before his appointment to head the IDF's Planning Directorate . Barak also participated in the Siege of Beirut , overseeing it from Beirut International Airport. Barak later served as head of Aman, the Military Intelligence Directorate (1983–85), head of Central Command (1986–87) and Deputy Chief of
2673-466: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1959. He served in the IDF for 35 years, rising to the position of Chief of the General Staff and the rank of Rav Aluf (Lieutenant-General), the highest in the Israeli military. During his service as a commando in the elite Sayeret Matkal , Barak led several highly acclaimed operations, such as: "Operation Isotope", the mission to free the hostages on board
2772-577: The Winograd Commission would publish its final report on the performance of the Israel Defense Forces and its civilian leadership. The preliminary Winograd report released earlier this year laid most of the blame on Olmert for poorly planning, executing, and reviewing war strategies in the 2006 conflict against Hezbollah . From December 2008 to January 2009, Barak led the Israel Defense Forces through Operation Cast Lead in his capacity as Minister of Defence. Labor won only 13 out of
2871-530: The airport control tower . At least five commandos were wounded, and the Israeli unit commander, Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed. Israeli commandos fired light machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade back at the control tower, suppressing the Ugandans' fire. According to one of Idi Amin's sons, the soldier who shot Netanyahu, a cousin of the Amin family, was killed by return fire. The Israelis finished evacuating
2970-605: The election for Prime Minister , had to form an unstable coalition government with six other parties: Shas , Meretz , Yisrael BaAliyah , the Centre Party , the National Religious Party and United Torah Judaism . Barak's participation in the Camp David Summit with Yasser Arafat in summer 2000 led to Gesher pulling out of the alliance on 7 March 2001. On 7 May the alliance was joined by
3069-547: The 1 July deadline the Israeli cabinet offered to negotiate with the hijackers to extend the deadline to 4 July. Amin also asked them to extend the deadline until that date. This meant he could take a diplomatic trip to Port Louis , Mauritius, to officially hand over chairmanship of the Organisation of African Unity to Seewoosagur Ramgoolam . This extension of the hostage deadline proved crucial to providing Israeli forces enough time to get to Entebbe. On 3 July at 18:30,
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3168-519: The 106 hostages, three were killed, one was left in Uganda (74-year-old Dora Bloch ), and approximately 10 were wounded. The 102 rescued hostages were flown to Israel via Nairobi, Kenya, shortly after the raid. Amin was furious upon learning of the raid, and reportedly boasted that he could have taught the Israelis a lesson if he had known that they would strike. Following the raid, Maliyamungu had 14 soldiers arrested under suspicion of collaborating with
3267-514: The 12-member Air France crew continued to be held as hostages. Representatives within the Israeli government initially debated over whether to concede or respond by force, as the hijackers had threatened to kill the 106 captives if the specified prisoners were not released. Acting on intelligence provided by Mossad , the decision was made to have the Israeli military undertake a rescue operation. The Israeli plans included preparation for an armed confrontation with Amin's Uganda Army . Initiating
3366-511: The 120 Knesset seats in the 2009 elections , making them the fourth largest party. Barak and other Labor officials initially stated they would not take part in the next government. However, over the objections of some in the Labor party, in March 2009, Barak reached an agreement under which Labor joined the governing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu . Barak retained his position as Defense Minister. In January 2011, Labor Party leader Barak formed
3465-638: The Block hotels chain in Kenya, along with other members of the Jewish and Israeli community in Nairobi , may also have used their political and economic influence to help persuade Kenya's President Jomo Kenyatta to help Israel. Uganda's ambassador to Lesotho , Isaac Lumago , overheard some of the details of the operation from Kenya Air Force officers who were discussing the possibility of Israeli compensation for
3564-567: The C-130s landed, Israeli assault team members drove the vehicles to the terminal building in the same fashion as Amin. As they approached the terminal, two Ugandan sentries, aware that Idi Amin had recently purchased a white Mercedes, ordered the vehicles to stop. The first commandos shot the sentries using silenced pistols. This was against the plan and against the orders – the Ugandans were to be ignored, as they were believed not to be likely to open fire at this stage. An Israeli commando in one of
3663-708: The General Staff in 1991, serving until 1995. His military tenure is noted for his leadership in several operations, including " Operation Isotope " in 1972, the covert 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon , and the 1976 Entebbe raid . A lieutenant general , Barak shares with two others the honor of being the most highly decorated soldier in Israel's history. In politics, his career began with his appointment as interior minister in 1995 under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin . Following Rabin's assassination, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Shimon Peres ' government. Barak
3762-542: The General Staff (1987–91). He served as Chief of the General Staff between 1 April 1991 and 1 January 1995. During this period he implemented the first Oslo Accords and participated in the negotiations towards the Israel–Jordan peace treaty . Barak was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service and four Chief of Staff citations ( Tzalash HaRamatkal ) for courage and operational excellence. These five decorations make him
3861-578: The Independence party in 2011 marked a shift in his politics, influencing the dynamics within the Netanyahu government. Despite retiring from politics in 2012, he attempted another comeback, running in the September 2019 Israeli legislative election as the leader of Israel Democratic Party - a new party he formed. His party merged with others to form an alliance called the Democratic Union , but it did not win enough seats for him to become
3960-661: The Israeli cabinet approved a rescue mission, presented by Major General Yekutiel Adam and Brigadier General Dan Shomron . Shomron was appointed as the operation commander. As the crisis unfolded, attempts were made to negotiate the release of the hostages. According to declassified diplomatic documents, the Egyptian government under Sadat tried to negotiate with both the PLO and the Ugandan government. PLO chairman Yasser Arafat sent his political aide Hani al-Hassan to Uganda as
4059-449: The Israeli hostage group by their own choice. On 30 June the hijackers released 48 hostages. The released were picked from among the non-Israeli group – mainly elderly and sick passengers and mothers with children. Forty-seven of them were flown by a chartered Air France Boeing 747 out of Entebbe to Paris, and one passenger was treated in hospital for a day. On 1 July, after the Israeli government had conveyed its agreement to negotiations,
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4158-607: The Israelis. Once they were gathered in a room at Makindye Barracks, he shot 12 of them with his pistol. Uganda Army Chief of Staff Mustafa Adrisi reportedly wanted to incarcerate or execute Godwin Sule , the Entebbe Air Base commander, who was absent from his post during the raid. Sule had left the air base early that day to meet a female companion at Lake Victoria Hotel on 4 July. Despite Adrisi's demands, Sule's closeness to President Amin guaranteed his safety. Dora Bloch,
4257-761: The Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Barak's government faced challenges, notably the protests in October 2000 . After defeat in the 2001 Israeli prime ministerial election , he left politics and engaged in international business and advisory roles. He made a political comeback in 2005, attempting to regain leadership in the Labor Party, and later served as defense minister - where he led Operation Cast Lead in 2008–09 - and deputy prime minister under Ehud Olmert and then in Benjamin Netanyahu 's second government between 2007 and 2013. His decision to form
4356-463: The Labor party, Barak announced he would stay at the party, despite his shaky relationship with its newly elected leader. He declared, however, that he would not run for a spot on the Labor party's Knesset list for the March 2006 elections . Barak's attempt to return to a prominent role in Israel politics seemed to have failed. However, Peretz's hold on the Labor leadership proved unexpectedly shaky as he
4455-576: The Security Council that the raid was "a serious violation of the sovereignty of a Member State of the United Nations" though he was "fully aware that this is not the only element involved ... when the world community is now required to deal with unprecedented problems arising from international terrorism." Abdalla, the representative of Uganda, alleged that the affair was close to a peaceful resolution when Israel intervened while Herzog,
4554-559: The US and Belgium and a French resident of Israel – were forced to join the Israeli group. According to Monique Epstein Khalepski, the French hostage among the five, the captors had singled them out for questioning and suspected them of hiding their Israeli identities. On the other hand, according to French hostage Michel Cojot-Goldberg, the captors failed to identify at least one Israeli among
4653-735: The age of two. Barak's maternal grandparents, Elka and Shmuel Godin, died at the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust . Ehud hebraized his family name from "Brog" to "Barak" in 1972. It was during his military service that he met his future wife, Nava (née Cohen, born 8 April 1947 in Tiberias ). They had three daughters together: Michal (born 9 August 1970), Yael (born 23 October 1974) and Anat (born 16 October 1981). He has grandchildren. Barak divorced Nava in August 2003. On 30 July 2007, Barak married Nili Priel (born 25 April 1944) in
4752-454: The airport on the edge of the lake. They planned to kill the hijackers and after freeing the hostages, they would ask Amin for passage home. The Israelis abandoned this plan because they lacked the necessary time and also because they had received word that Lake Victoria was inhabited by the Nile crocodile . Amnon Biran , the mission's intelligence officer, later stated that the proper layout of
4851-523: The airport was unknown, as was the exact location of the hostages and whether the building had been prepared with explosives. While planning the raid, the Israeli forces had to plan how to refuel the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft they intended to use while en route to Entebbe. The Israelis lacked the logistical capacity to aerially refuel four to six aircraft so far from Israeli airspace. While several East African nations, including
4950-476: The anticipated hour of refuelling. The Israelis then destroyed Ugandan MiG fighter planes to prevent them from pursuing, and conducted a sweep of the airfield to gather intelligence. After the raid the Israeli assault team returned to their aircraft and began loading the hostages. Ugandan soldiers shot at them in the process. The Israeli commandos returned fire, inflicting casualties on the Ugandans. During this brief but intense firefight, Ugandan soldiers fired from
5049-450: The assistance and forwarded the information to Ugandan commander Isaac Maliyamungu . Maliyamungu did not alert Amin or take any action on the intelligence, allegedly dismissing the report as "gasiya" (rubbish). According to Amin's son, Jaffar Remo, the Ugandan president still managed to receive Lumago's warning via telephone and, after completing his responsibilities at the OAU meeting, boarded
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#17327724717195148-540: The contest, he was defeated by Likud leader Ariel Sharon , and subsequently resigned as Labor leader and from the Knesset. He left Israel to work as a senior advisor with United States–based Electronic Data Systems . He also partnered with a private equity company focused on "security-related" work. In 2005, Barak announced his return to Israeli politics, and ran for leadership of the Labor Party in November . However, in light of his weak poll showings, Barak dropped out of
5247-703: The controversial issue of ultra-Orthodox Jews' exemption from military service. Following the failure of the Camp David summit with Arafat and Bill Clinton in the summer of 2000, when the original 7 years mandate of the PNA expired, and just after Israel pulled out its last troops out of southern Lebanon in May 2000, the weeks-long Riots in October 2000 led to the killing of twelve Israeli Arabs and one Palestinian by Israel Police and one Jewish civilian by Israeli Arabs. In 2001, Barak called an election for Prime Minister . In
5346-531: The dismantling of Palestinian terrorist cell Black September . It has been alluded that Barak also masterminded the Tunis Raid on 16 April 1988, in which PLO leader Abu Jihad was killed. During the Yom Kippur War , Barak commanded an improvised regiment of tanks which, among other things, helped rescue paratrooper battalion 890, commanded by Yitzhak Mordechai , which was suffering heavy losses in
5445-543: The ensuing years Betser and the Netanyahu brothers – Iddo and Benjamin , all Sayeret Matkal veterans – argued in increasingly public forums about who was to blame for the unexpected early firefight that caused Yonatan's death and partial loss of tactical surprise. As a result of the operation the United States military developed rescue teams modelled on the unit employed in the Entebbe rescue. One notable attempt
5544-447: The first round of voting, on 28 May 2007, he gained 39% of the votes, more than his two closest rivals, but not enough to win the election. As a result, Barak faced a runoff against the second-place finisher, Ami Ayalon , on 12 June 2007, which he won by a narrow margin. Barak has been critical of what he sees as racist sentiments that have recently been expressed by some Israeli rabbis and rebbetzins ; he views such statements as
5643-499: The flight landed, and Amin, who had been informed of the hijacking from the beginning, had personally welcomed the terrorists at Entebbe. After moving all of the hostages to a defunct airport, the hijackers separated all Israelis and several non-Israeli Jews from the larger group of passengers, subsequently moving them into a separate room. Over the next two days, 148 non-Israeli hostages were released and flown out to Paris. The 94 remaining passengers, most of whom were Israelis, and
5742-466: The flight to Benghazi , Libya. There it was held on the ground for seven hours for refuelling. During that time the hijackers released British-born Israeli citizen Patricia Martell, who pretended to have a miscarriage . The plane left Benghazi and at 3:15 pm on the 28th, more than 24 hours after the flight's original departure, it arrived at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. At Entebbe the four hijackers were joined by at least four others, supported by
5841-494: The following Land Rovers opened fire with an unsuppressed rifle. Fearing the hijackers would be alerted prematurely, the assault team quickly approached the terminal. The Israelis left their vehicles and ran towards the terminal. The hostages were in the main hall of the airport building, directly adjacent to the runway. Entering the terminal, the commandos shouted through a megaphone, "Stay down! Stay down! We are Israeli soldiers," in both Hebrew and English. Jean-Jacques Maimoni,
5940-404: The forces of Uganda's president, Idi Amin . The hijackers transferred the passengers to the transit hall of the disused former airport terminal where they kept them under guard for the following days. Amin came to visit the hostages almost on a daily basis, updating them on developments and promising to use his efforts to have them freed through negotiations. On 28 June a PFLP-EO hijacker issued
6039-405: The group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin . Having hijacked the flight of 248 passengers on 27 June 1976, the terrorists took hostages with the stated objective of compelling the release of 40 Palestinian and affiliated militants imprisoned in Israel as well as the release of 13 prisoners in four other countries. Over 100 Ugandan soldiers were deployed to support the hijackers after
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#17327724717196138-809: The hijacked Sabena Flight 571 at Lod Airport in 1972; the covert 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon in Beirut, in which he was disguised as a woman to kill members of the Palestine Liberation Organization ; Barak was also a key architect of the June 1976 Entebbe raid , another rescue mission to free the hostages of the Air France aircraft hijacked by terrorists and forced to land at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda. These highly acclaimed operations, along with Operation Bayonet , led to
6237-580: The hijackers and 45 Ugandan soldiers, and eleven of Uganda's MiG-17s and MiG-21s were destroyed. Over the course of the operation in Uganda, Israel received support from neighbouring Kenya . Idi Amin subsequently issued orders for the Ugandan army to kill all Kenyans living in Uganda, leading to the deaths of 245 Kenyan-Ugandans and the exodus of around 3000 Kenyans from Uganda. On 27 June 1976 Air France Flight 139, an Airbus A300B4-203 , registration F-BVGG (c/n 019), departed from Tel Aviv , Israel, carrying 246 mainly Jewish and Israeli passengers and
6336-410: The hijacking and was removed from the plane for treatment prior to the commandos' arrival. The Israeli military suffered five wounded and one killed; Yonatan Netanyahu was Israel's sole fatality of Operation Entebbe, and had led Sayeret Matkal during the rescue effort – he was the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu , who would later become Israel's prime minister. The Israeli commandos killed all of
6435-407: The hostage-takers extended their deadline to noon on 4 July and released another group of 100 non-Israeli captives who again were flown to Paris a few hours later. Among the 106 hostages staying behind with their captors at Entebbe airport were the 12 members of the Air France crew who refused to leave, about ten young French passengers, and the Israeli group of some 84 people. In the week before
6534-399: The hostages, loaded Netanyahu's body into one of the planes, and left the airport. The entire operation lasted 53 minutes – of which the assault lasted only 30 minutes. All seven hijackers present, and about 50 Ugandan soldiers, were killed. Eleven Soviet-built MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighter planes of the Uganda Army Air Force were destroyed on the ground at Entebbe Airport. Out of
6633-473: The largest faction in the Knesset, its 26 seats was the lowest ever by a winning party (Labor's 34 in the 1996 elections whilst running alone had been the previous low). Of the 26 seats, Labor took 22, Gesher three and Meimad one. As per the pre-election agreement, Levy was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Meimad's Michael Melchior was made Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs. Barak, who had beaten Binyamin Netanyahu in
6732-497: The left wing Meretz party quit the coalition after they failed to agree on the powers to be given to a Shas deputy minister in the Ministry of Education. In 1999 Barak gave a campaign promise to end Israel's 22-year-long occupation of Southern Lebanon within a year. On 24 May 2000 Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon. On 7 October, three Israeli soldiers were killed in a border raid by Hezbollah and their bodies were subsequently captured. The bodies of these soldiers, along with
6831-443: The living Elhanan Tenenbaum, were eventually exchanged for Lebanese captives in 2004. The Barak government resumed peace negotiations with the PLO , stating that "Every attempt [by the State of Israel] to keep hold of this area [the West Bank and Gaza] as one political entity leads, necessarily, to either a nondemocratic or a non-Jewish state. Because if the Palestinians vote, then it is a binational state , and if they don't vote it
6930-399: The logistically preferred choice Kenya, were sympathetic, none wished to incur the wrath of Amin or the Palestinians by allowing the Israelis to land their aircraft within their borders. The raid could not proceed without assistance from at least one East African government. The Israeli government secured permission from Kenya for the IDF task force to cross Kenyan airspace and refuel at what
7029-413: The most decorated soldier in Israeli history (jointly with close friend Nechemya Cohen ). In 1992 he was awarded the Legion of Merit (Commander) by the United States. In 2012, he was again awarded by the United States with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service . On 7 July 1995, Barak was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs by Yitzhak Rabin . When Shimon Peres formed
7128-475: The number of weapons carried by the hostage-takers. The Israeli ground task force numbered approximately 100 personnel, and comprised the following elements: Taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh , the task force flew along the international flight path over the Red Sea , mostly flying at a height of no more than 30 m (100 ft) to avoid radar detection by Egyptian, Sudanese, and Saudi Arabian forces. Near
7227-400: The number three spot on the list (behind Barak and Shimon Peres ), two other safe positions and a promise that Levy would get a ministerial position. Meimad were promised one safe spot on the list and a ministerial position for a member who did not make it into the Knesset. In the run-up to the election, surveys predicted the party would win 33 seats. However, although One Israel did emerge as
7326-439: The operation at nightfall on 3 July 1976, Israeli transport planes flew 100 commandos over 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) to Uganda for the rescue effort. Over the course of 90 minutes, 102 of the hostages were rescued successfully, with three having been killed. One of the dead hostages, Dora Bloch , was murdered by Ugandan authorities at a hospital in Kampala shortly after the Israeli rescue operation; she had fallen ill during
7425-553: The operation, General Yekutiel Adam, was on board the second Boeing, which circled over Entebbe Airport during the raid. The Israeli forces landed at Entebbe on 3 July at 23:00 IST , with their cargo bay doors already open. Because the proper layout of the airport was not known, the first plane almost taxied into a ditch. A black Mercedes car that looked like President Idi Amin's vehicle and Land Rovers that usually accompanied Amin's Mercedes were brought along. The Israelis hoped they could use them to bypass security checkpoints. When
7524-721: The operation, but that criticism was not made public at the time. In mid-July 1976, the supercarrier USS Ranger and her escorts entered the Indian Ocean and operated off the Kenyan coast in response to a threat of military action by forces from Uganda. The hijacked aircraft's pilot, Captain Michel Bacos , was awarded the Legion of Honour , and the other crew members were awarded the French Order of Merit . In
7623-583: The operation. Representatives of the United Kingdom and United States offered significant praise, calling the Entebbe raid "an impossible operation". Some in the United States noted that the hostages were freed on 4 July 1976, 200 years after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence . In private conversation with Israeli Ambassador Dinitz, Henry Kissinger sounded criticism for Israeli use of US equipment during
7722-514: The party 13 million shekels for breaking fund-raising laws. It later became known as the "Barak Organisation Affair". Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( Hebrew : אֵהוּד בָּרָק [eˈhud baˈʁak] ; born Ehud Brog ; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party between 1997 and 2001 and between 2007 and 2011. Born on
7821-436: The passengers who was a military officer with dual citizenship then using his non-Israeli passport and he was later freed as part of the second release of non-Israeli hostages. US citizen Janet Almog, Frenchwoman Jocelyne Monier (whose husband or boyfriend was Israeli), and French-Israeli dual citizen Jean-Jacques Mimouni, whose name had not been called up during the reading of the original passport-based list, reportedly joined
7920-485: The phone many times, trying to gain the release of the hostages, without success. The Israeli government also approached the United States government to deliver a message to Egyptian president Anwar Sadat , asking him to request that Amin release the hostages. Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and defence minister Shimon Peres spent one week disagreeing on whether to give in to the hijackers' demands (Rabin's position) or not, to prevent more terrorism (Peres' position). At
8019-402: The race early and declared his support for veteran statesman Shimon Peres . Following his failed attempt to maintain leadership of the Labor party, Barak became a partner of the investment company SCP Private Equity Partners, Pennsylvania . He also established a company "Ehud Barak Limited" which is thought to have made over NIS 30 million. After Peres lost the race to Amir Peretz and left
8118-486: The raid Israel tried using political avenues to obtain the release of the hostages. Many sources indicate that the Israeli cabinet was prepared to release Palestinian prisoners if a military solution seemed unlikely to succeed. A retired IDF officer, Baruch "Burka" Bar-Lev, had known Idi Amin for many years and was considered to have a strong personal relationship with him. At the request of the cabinet, he spoke with Amin on
8217-512: The raid at a somber ceremony at the base of a tower at the Old Entebbe Airport, where Yonatan Netanyahu was killed. Uganda and Israel renewed their commitment to "fight terrorism and to work towards humanity". In addition, wreaths were laid, a moment of silence was held, speeches were given, and a poem was recited. The flags of Uganda and Israel were flown side by side, symbolising the two countries' strong bilateral relations, next to
8316-405: The representative of Israel, accused Uganda of direct complicity in the hijacking. The US and UK sponsored a resolution which condemned hijacking and similar acts, deplored the loss of life arising from the hijacking (without condemning either Israel or Uganda), reaffirmed the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, and called on the international community to enhance
8415-399: The rest of them?" referring to the hijackers. The hostages pointed to a connecting door of the airport's main hall, into which the commandos threw several hand grenades . They then entered the room and shot dead the three remaining hijackers, ending the assault. Meanwhile, the other three C-130 Hercules aeroplanes had landed and unloaded armoured personnel carriers to provide defence during
8514-416: The safety of civil aviation. However, the resolution failed to receive the required number of affirmative votes because two voting members abstained and seven were absent. A second resolution sponsored by Benin, Libya and Tanzania, that condemned Israel, was not put to a vote. Western nations spoke in support of the raid. West Germany called the raid "an act of self-defence". Switzerland and France praised
8613-501: The single member New Way faction, but on 15 May 2001 it ceased to exist, as the parliamentary group was renamed Labor-Meimad. After the party's collapse, Barak was investigated following allegations that the One Israel had broken the party funding law by allowing money from abroad to be directed into campaign funds through non-profit groups in order to get around spending limits. State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg had already fined
8712-579: The south outlet of the Red Sea the C-130s turned south and crossed into Ethiopian territory, passing west of Djibouti . From there, they went to a point northeast of Nairobi, Kenya. They turned west, passing through the African Rift Valley and over Lake Victoria . Two Boeing 707 jets followed the cargo planes. The first Boeing contained medical facilities and landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The commander of
8811-683: The target. Later, Mossad Chief Director Meir Amit had a forest planted in Israel in MacKenzie's name. The United Nations Security Council convened on 9 July 1976, to consider a complaint from the Chairman of the Organization of African Unity charging Israel with an "act of aggression". The Council allowed Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Chaim Herzog , and Uganda's foreign minister, Juma Oris Abdalla , to participate without voting rights. UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim told
8910-484: The terminal where the hostages were held. While planning the military operation, the IDF erected a partial replica of the airport terminal with the assistance of civilians who had helped build the original. IDF major Muki Betser later remarked in an interview that Mossad operatives extensively interviewed the hostages who had been released. He said that a French-Jewish passenger who had a military background and "a phenomenal memory" had provided detailed information about
9009-676: Was Operation Eagle Claw , a failed 1980 rescue of 53 American embassy personnel held hostage in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis . In a letter dated 13 July 1976 the Supreme Commander's Staff of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces praised the Israeli commandos for the mission and extended condolences for "the loss and martyrdom" of Netanyahu. F-BVGG the aircraft in the hijacking of Air France Flight 139,
9108-611: Was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda . It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight (an Airbus A300 ) operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris. During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda,
9207-466: Was badly damaged by negative views of his performance as Defense Minister during the 2006 Lebanon War, which was seen as something less than a success in Israel. In January 2007 , Barak launched a bid to recapture the leadership of the Labor party in a letter acknowledging "mistakes" and "inexperience" during his tenure as Prime Minister. In early March 2007, a poll of Labor Party primary voters put Barak ahead of all other opponents, including Peretz. In
9306-479: Was elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list in 1996 and subsequently became party leader. Barak served as Israel's last left-wing Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001. His tenure was marked by significant events, including the decision to form a coalition with the Orthodox party Shas , the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon in 2000, and participation in the 2000 Camp David Summit aimed at resolving
9405-414: Was killed when a bomb attached to his aircraft exploded as MacKenzie departed a meeting with Amin. Some have asserted that Ugandan president Idi Amin ordered Ugandan agents to assassinate MacKenzie in retaliation for Kenya's involvement and MacKenzie's actions prior to the raid. Others have indicated various other possible causes for the bombing, including that another person aboard the plane may have been
9504-436: Was repaired and returned to service with Air France. In April 1996, the aircraft was leased to Vietnam Airlines for three months. In December the same year, the aircraft was converted into a freighter and was delivered to S–C Aviation, having been re-registered as N742SC. In 1998 the aircraft was delivered to MNG Airlines and re-registered as TC-MNA. In 2009, the aircraft was placed into storage at Istanbul Atatürk Airport and
9603-484: Was scrapped in 2020. The Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi , owned by a prominent member of the local Jewish community , was bombed on 31 December 1980. The bomb flattened the hotel, killing 20 people, of several nationalities, and injuring 87 more. It was believed to be an act of revenge by pro-Palestinian militants for Kenya's supporting role in Operation Entebbe. In August 2012 Uganda and Israel commemorated
9702-669: Was shot and her body was dumped in the trunk of a car that had Ugandan intelligence services number plates. Her remains were recovered near a sugar plantation 20 miles (32 km) east of Kampala in 1979, after the Uganda–Tanzania War ended Amin's rule. Amin also ordered the killing of hundreds of Kenyans living in Uganda in retaliation for Kenya's assistance to Israel in the raid. Uganda killed 245 Kenyans, including airport staff at Entebbe. To avoid massacre, approximately 3000 Kenyans fled Uganda as refugees. On 24 May 1978 Kenya's former agriculture minister, Bruce MacKenzie ,
9801-474: Was the only hijacker who, after the operation began, entered the hall housing the hostages. At first he pointed his Kalashnikov rifle at hostages, but "immediately came to his senses" and ordered them to find shelter in the restroom, before being killed by the commandos. According to Hartuv, Böse fired only at Israeli soldiers and not at hostages. At one point an Israeli commando called out in Hebrew, "Where are
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