Entebbe raid: Netanyahu to visit Uganda

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Uganda and Kenya in July to mark 40 years since the July 4, 1976, Entebbe raid during which his brother, Yonatan, was killed in the legendary hostage rescue operation.

This will be the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to Sub-Saharan Africa since Yitzhak Shamir visited four West African states in 1987.

While Netanyahu had plans to visit Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia in 2011, that trip was scuttled because of security concerns.

The failure of Israeli prime ministers to visit Africa is a sore point with African ambassadors stationed here, who regularly urge Israel not only to talk about the importance of ties with Africa, but actually to show the importance of these ties through deeds, including prime ministerial visits.

Netanyahu visited Uganda in 2005, before becoming prime minister for a second time in 2009, and dedicated a plaque in his brother's' memory on the wall of the old terminal building at the Entebbe International Airport.

To commemorate 30 years after the raid on Entebbe Airport in which Israel commandos rescued hostages at Entebbe, New Vision will run stories about the raid. If you have any pictures about the raid or your visit to Israeli, send them to smiria@newvision.co.ug or nnaturinda@newvision.co.ug or whatsapp number 0757144000