Tackling Terrorism....

Plot :


On June 27th 1976, a mixed group of German and Palestinian terrorists hijacked an Air France Airbus A300 which was traveling from TelAviv to Paris via Athens.




The plane was diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda, after a refueling stop in Benghazi, Libya. Over the next few days, many of the hostages were released, but over 100 Israeli and Jewish passengers remained in the hands of the hijackers.

At Entebbe Airport in Uganda where three additional terrorists joined the hijackers. Uganda's President, Idi Amin, was sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and his military forces were deployed effectively in support of the terrorists.

The terrorists demanded the release of 40 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as others held in France, Germany, Switzerland and Kenya. They threatened to begin killing hostages on July 1st if their demands were not met. In the meantime, the terrorists held the hostages in the transit hall at Entebbe Airport. The terrorists did eventually release just over half of the passengers, keeping those whom they believed to be Israeli or Jewish.

On July 1st, the Israeli government offered to negotiate with the hijackers in order extend the deadline to July 4th. Simultaneously, preparations were being made for a rescue mission.


On July 4th, Israeli special forces launched a daring mission to rescue the hostages...

Plan:

It was decided that the mission would be carried out by commandos of Sayeret Matkal, an elite special forces unit, carried in C-130 Hercules aircraft, and accompanied by a Boeing 707 to be used for medical and communications support. As a ruse to approach the airport buildings, one Hercules would carry a black Mercedes and Land Rovers, which would be used to trick the Ugandan guards into believing that Idi Amin or another high-ranking official was visiting the airport. Since no suitable black Mercedes was available in Israel, a differently-colored Mercedes car was apparently borrowed from an Israeli civilian and spray-painted, on the understanding that it would be returned in its original color.


Rescue:

Four Israeli C-130 Hercules aircraft were loaded with the rescue force and their vehicles, just before dawn on Saturday July 3rd. Additionally, medical staff were loaded on board an Israeli Air Force Boeing 707.

The aircraft took-off at around 1pm, but did not receive the final authorization to go ahead from the Israeli cabinet until the C-130s were refueled in the air, just to the South of the Sinai peninsula.

The medical-support Boeing 707 headed for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya. The C-130s headed directly for Entebbe without the assistance of ground control, and despite some stormy weather on the way, landed at 23:01, just one minute behind schedule,

As the C-130s touched down, the rear cargo door was already open to allow fast unloading. While the aircraft was still moving, some commandos rolled out and placed emergency beacons, just in case the runway lights were turned off.

A black Mercedes and Land Rover vehicles which were on board one of the C-130 Hercules were first unloaded. In an attempt to fool any Ugandan guards, these vehicles were driven towards the terminal building at high-speed, in a similar way to that done by Idi Amin. Two sentries who knew that Idi Amin had recently purchased a white Mercedes ordered the vehicles to stop, but they were immediately shot dead by the Israeli commandos who then entered the airport terminal building itself.

When Israeli commandos entered the terminal building they shouted "Get down! Get down!" in both English and Hebrew. One hostage, Jean-Jacques Maimoni, who stood up was shot by the commandos who mistook him for a terrorist. Additionally, two other hostages, Pasko Cohen and Ida Borochovitch, were killed in the brief firefight. All the hijackers were killed, and the Israeli commandos suffered no casualties during their assault.

The Israelis then used armoured personal carriers, carried on the other C-130 Hercules, to secure the airport perimeter and other airport buildings. All the Hercules aircraft were refueled from Entebbe's own fuel tanks, using pumping equipment that the commandos had brought with them.

Before taking-off, to prevent any pursuit, the commandos destroyed 11 Ugandan Army Air Force MiG-17 fighters which were at the airport. The hostages were then loaded and the C-130 Hercules departed for Israel via Nairobi, Kenya. It was during the loading that the Israeli commandos suffered their only casualty: Lieutenant Colonel Yoni Netanyahu was killed by Ugandan gunfire. Out of 103 hostages, 3 had been killed, and 10 were wounded.

45 Ugandan soldiers were killed, and an unknown number wounded during the raid, as were 6 hijackers.

The raid is generally considered a great anti-terrorist success, especially in view of the tremendous logistical challenges which had been overcome, and the low casualties among both the hostages and commandos.



Chaim Herzog Israel's Ambassador to the UN from 1975-1978 in address to UN Security Council said "We come with a simple message to the Council: we are proud of what we have done because we have demonstrated to the world that a small country, in Israel's circumstances, with which the members of this Council are by now all too familiar, the dignity of man, human life and human freedom constitute the highest values. We are proud not only because we have saved the lives of over a hundred innocent people - men, women and children - but because of the significance of our act for the cause of human freedom. "


The mission struck a blow at international terrorism. "It resonated far and wide," Shomron later commented. "It showed that you could counter terrorism, and that it was worth cooperating to do so."

Nothing to say much ...just compare this one with the incident where Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacked on Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24, 1999, shortly after the aircraft entered Indian airspace at about 5:30 p.m. Indian Standard Time by five Pakistani nationals. The hijackers stabbed 25-year-old guy, who later died of his injuries.Ultimately, the plane landed in Kandahar in Afghanistan, where the hijackers agreed to release their hostages in exchange for the release of three Terrorists.

After negotiations between the India government and the hijackers, the hostages were freed eight days after the hijacking occurred.

On December 31, 1999, the freed hostages of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 were flown back to India on a special plane. The hijackers disappeared into Afghanistan in vehicle provided by Taliban before releasing a Taliban official they had taken hostage..and they masterminded future terror attacks on India and the rest of the world !!.

No doubt , as a nation we lack the vision and true daring leadership to counter the terrorism .. As a state we are too soft on terrorism and the way our media glorify the terrorists... Hence, there is no wonder the way 9 blasts rocked Bangalore killing two on Friday noon !!!.