Entebbe: Israel releases documents 50 years after hijacking and rescue

 Israel's state archives have released a comprehensive collection of historical documents on the 50th anniversary of the Entebbe hijacking, giving the public detailed insight into how the Israeli government acted at the time.

The authority published all the files on Operation Entebbe including documents that had previously been classified.

On June 27, 1976, Palestinian and German terrorists hijacked an Air France plane on its way from Athens to Paris. They wanted to force the release of detainees in Israel, France, Germany and Switzerland including prisoners from the left-wing extremist German terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF).

After a stopover in Libya, the hijackers flew to Entebbe in Uganda. The terrorists released most non-Jewish passengers and held more than 100 Jewish and Israeli hostages until an Israeli military unit freed them in a daring operation on July 4, 1976.

All the hijackers were killed in the operation along with three hostages, several Ugandan soldiers and the Israeli commander Yonatan Netanyahu, the brother of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The files are said to document the deliberations, strategic concerns and the various scenarios considered by the Israeli government during the crisis.