Classified Knesset documents released for the first time reveal that Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin warned of a potential hostage-taking operation aimed at securing the release of imprisoned terrorists just months before the infamous Entebbe hijacking.

The documents, uncovered from the archives of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ahead of the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, provide a rare glimpse into high-level discussions that took place in the months leading up to one of Israel’s most daring rescue missions.

According to the newly declassified protocols, Rabin appeared before the committee on March 19, 1976, to brief lawmakers on a highly secret operation that foiled a plot to shoot down an El Al airliner carrying 140 passengers as it approached Nairobi, Kenya.

The attack was orchestrated by Wadie Haddad, a senior leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Five terrorists — three Palestinians and two German members of the Baader-Meinhof group — were arrested in Kenya during the final stages of the operation.

During that closed-door meeting, Rabin voiced a concern that would later prove remarkably prescient.

“My concern,” Rabin told committee members, “is that there will be an attempt at a ‘bargaining attack’ against the Kenyans, and then they will pressure us to release them.”

Just over three months later, on June 27, 1976, Air France Flight 139 was hijacked and diverted to Entebbe, Uganda. Among the terrorists’ demands was the release of the very same five terrorists imprisoned in Kenya whom Rabin had referenced months earlier.

The documents also reveal the intense uncertainty that gripped Israel’s leadership during the early days of the hostage crisis. In committee discussions before the rescue mission, Rabin acknowledged the enormous risks involved in any military operation thousands of miles from Israel.

“We have no possibility of establishing an Israeli presence in Uganda at this stage,” Rabin told lawmakers.

When Justice Minister Shmuel Tamir questioned whether a military operation at such a distance was even feasible, Rabin reportedly responded: “To get there, yes. To return? I do not know.”

Another newly released protocol shows Rabin warning lawmakers against publicly discussing the Kenyan connection, fearing it could endanger cooperation from the Kenyan government, which officially denied holding the imprisoned terrorists.

“If Israeli loose talk doesn’t ruin this, we can handle it,” Rabin said. “If not — woe to us.”

Knesset officials said the documents provide a unique window into one of the most dramatic chapters in Israeli history. As part of special commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, visitors to the Knesset next week will be able to view copies of the newly declassified documents and meet one of the soldiers who participated in the legendary rescue mission.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)