Declassified Knesset records show Rabin warned months before Entebbe hijacking

On the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, the Knesset Archive has released classified minutes from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, offering a rare look at the months before the Air France hijacking and the rescue raid that became one of Israel’s best-known military operations. The documents show that Yitzhak Rabin warned months earlier about a possible hostage-for-prisoners gambit linked to detainees in Kenya, a scenario that later became the basis of the hijackers’ demands.

According to the newly opened records, Rabin appeared before the committee on March 19, 1976 and briefed lawmakers on a highly secret operation later nicknamed “Operation Tzevaat.” In that case, the Shin Bet and the Mossad had foiled an attempt to shoot down an El Al plane carrying 140 passengers that was due to land in Nairobi. The plan was tied to Wadie Haddad, a senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Rabin described the cooperation with Kenya and the need for total secrecy after five militants, three Palestinians and two Germans linked to the Baader-Meinhof group and Carlos, were arrested in Kenya during the final stage of preparations.

Rabin’s warning, now seen as prescient, was that there might be an attack used as bargaining leverage against the Kenyans so they would pressure Israel to hand over the detainees. Three months later, on June 27, 1976, an Air France plane was hijacked to Entebbe by Haddad’s organization, and one of the hijackers’ demands was the release of the same five prisoners arrested in Kenya. A second set of minutes, from June 29, shows Rabin connecting the two events and saying he hoped the hijacking was only an attempt to free those held in Israel.

In another committee meeting the next day, Rabin warned against exposing the secret Kenya operation, saying, “If the Israeli chatter does not ruin the matter, we can handle it; if not, heaven help us.” The minutes say Kenya officially denied the arrests, while Israel feared publicity could endanger the African state and undermine efforts to free the hostages. Rabin also said Israel could not yet reach Uganda militarily, and Defense Minister Shmuel Tamir doubted whether Phantom jets or Yasur helicopters could get there. Rabin replied, “Getting there, yes. Getting back, I do not know.” Knesset Secretary General Moshe Adry said the release opens a window into the archive’s “vault of secrets” for the public.