Declassified Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee records, released as Israel marks 50 years since the Entebbe raid, show that Yitzhak Rabin anticipated a hostage-taking scenario months before the Air France hijacking. The Knesset archives are opening the classified minutes to the public next week, giving a rare look at the months leading up to one of Israel’s boldest rescue operations.
The files show that on March 19, 1976, Rabin briefed lawmakers on a top-secret operation later known as “Operation Tzarbatim.” In that operation, the Shin Bet and Mossad foiled an attempt by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to shoot down an El Al plane carrying 140 passengers as it was due to land in Nairobi, Kenya. According to Nathan Last of the Knesset Archives, Rabin said five militants, three Palestinians and two Germans from the Baader-Meinhof group, were arrested in Kenya during the final stage of preparations for firing a shoulder-launched missile at an Israeli aircraft.
At the same meeting, Rabin warned, “My concern is that there will be an attempt at a ‘hostage-for-ransom’ attack against the Kenyans and then they will pressure us to extradite them.” Three months later, on June 27, 1976, the Air France flight was hijacked to Entebbe by Haddad’s organization, and one of the hijackers’ demands was the release of those same five detainees in Kenya.
A follow-up committee session, also published for the first time, shows Rabin warning against exposing the Kenya operation. He said that if “Israeli chatter” did not ruin the effort, “we can handle it. And if not, heaven help us.” The records also show that Kenya officially denied the arrests, and Israeli leaders feared any leak would embroil the African state and hurt efforts to free the hostages. Rabin said, “I ask for extreme caution on the special issue of the African country, because this is a matter of life and death. I am sorry to say I trust their restraint more than our ability to keep quiet.”
The documents also capture the uncertainty in Israel’s leadership before the raid. Rabin told the committee, “We have no ability to reach a Jewish presence in Uganda at this stage,” while Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir doubted a military operation that far away. Rabin replied, “To get there, yes. To come back? I do not know.” Knesset Secretary-General Moshe (Chico) Edri said the archives are “opening a window into the vault of secrets” for the public, and the Knesset visitor center will hold special tours next week, with participants receiving copies of the minutes and meeting one of the commandos from the rescue operation.
