Unless otherwise noted, the references are to personal interviews.
1. Maj.-Gen. Benny Peled, interview; and Eliezer Cohen and Zvi Lavi, The Sky Is Not the Limit (Tel Aviv: Ma’ariv, 1990), p. 534.
2.Shimon Peres, “Diary Entries,” Yediot Aharonot, June 9, 1990, and July 6, 1990; and Cohen and Lavi, The Sky Is Not the Limit, op. cit., p. 534.
3. Ben-Porat, Y.; E. Haber; and Z. Schiff, Flight 139 (Jerusalem: Zmora, Bitan, Modan, 1976), p. 170.
4.Lt.-Col. Haim Oren and Col. Shai Tamari, interviews.
5. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Radio, “To Entebbe and Back,” June 1979.
6. Peres, “Diary Entries,” op. cit.
7. IDF Radio, “Entebbe,” op. cit.
8. Yitzhak Rabin, Service Card (Jerusalem: Ma’ariv, 1979), p. 126.
9. IDF Radio, “Entebbe,” op. cit.
10. The account of the meeting is based on Peres, “Diary Entries,” op. cit. and on interviews with Maj. Iddo Embar and Maj.-Gen. Benny Peled.
11. Peres, “Diary Entries,” op. cit; and Shimon Peres, Entebbe Diary (Jerusalem: Eidanim, 1991), p-79.
12. Peres, “Diary Entries,” op. cit.
13. Lt. Col. Amnon Biran, interview.
14. Ben-Porat, op. cit. p. 215.
15. Ibid.
16. Avi, interview.
17. Ibid,
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. IDF Radio, “Special Broadcast in Memory of Lt.-Col. Jonathan Netanyahu,” August 6,1976.
21. Maj. Embar, interview.
22. Avi, interview.
23. Giora Zusman, interview.
24. The comments by Gur and Peres arc from Peres, Entebbe Dairy, op.cit.p.96
25. Rabin, op. cit. pp. 528-529.
26. Ilan Blumer, interview.
27. Avi and Tamir, interviews.
28. IDF Radio, “Entebbe,” op. cit.
29. Alex Davidi, taped recollection.
30. Ma’ariv, July 4,1986.
31. Bukhris, interview.
32. Israel Television, “Now is the Time,” May 12, 1986.
33. Shai’s and Muki’s descriptions of the battle are taken from IDF Radio, “Jonathan,” op. cit.
34. Interview conducted by Danny Veseli of IDF Radio, July 1976
35. Yoni, documentary film, Israel, 2001, dir. Semion Vinokur
36. IDF Radio, “Jonathan,” op. cit.
37. Peres, Entebbe Diary, op. cit.
38. Shlomo Reisman, interview.
39. Eyal Yardenai, interview.
40. Shlomo Reisman, interview.
41. Gur’s estimate of possible casualties is from Ben-Porat et at., op cit., p.291
42. Lt.-Col. Haim Oren, interview.
43. The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu (Jerusalem New York, Gefen, 2001)
44. IDF Radio, “Entebbe," op. cit
45. Personal interview willi Shani, and IDF Radio, "Entebbe,” op. cil
46. IDF Radio, “Jonathan,” op. cil
47. Among those interviewed who make lliis point are Rani Cohen, Amitzur Kafri, Eyal Ardenai, Amir ofer, Ilan Blumer, Yiftah Reicher, Giora Zusman and Amos Goren,
48. Amnon Biran, on the basis of what he heard from the debriefing of the hostages
49. Nearly all those of the assault force who were interviewed relate how Muki Betser stopped for a reason unknown to them and how Yoni shouted to run forward. Those who point out where he stopped claim that it occurred at the corner of the building. Nearly all of the men say that Yoni’s shouts of “forward” were directed primarily at Muki. There are also definitive eye-witness accounts (including Yiftah Reicher’s written report following the action) that Muki shot bursts after he had stopped. Some of the eyewitness accounts describing the delay in the assault were cited in Iddo Netanyahu, “The Battle for the Truth ,” Ma’ariv, July 19,1991.
50. Arnon Epstein, interview, summing up what was said in the debriefing at the Unit after the operation. His description is similar to that of Shlomo Reisman, who says: “When the force stalled, Yoni pulled all of us forward.” (Yoni, documentary film, Israel 2001, dir. Semion Virokur). There are other eyewitness reports of Yoni bypassing Muki, such as Yiftah Reicher’s written report following the action (July 1976) and Tamir’s interview with IDF Radio researcher Danny Veseli (July 1976). See also p. 184 (Goren).
51. Yiftah’s written report after the operation.
52. There is little basis to the widely accepted view that Yoni was hit by fire from the control tower — even though the Ugandan soldier who was positioned there was later decorated by Idi Amin for supposedly having killed the Israeli commander. A bullet that lodged in Yoni’s ammo vest was from an AK-47; the terrorists and the Unit’s men were using such guns, while the Ugandan troops at the airport were seen to have been armed with weapons of a different make. Moreover, the doctors who examined Yoni’s body agree that the bullet entered from the front — as is also indicated by Yoni’s ammo vest — while the control tower was directly behind him. Those who were at Entebbe concur that Yoni fell while running forward, away from the tower. The direction of the wound could indicate that the fire came from the building — possibly from a terrorist inside the hall who shot out. Moreover, Yoni was opposite the wide windows of the hall at the moment he was hit.
53. This assessment is based on analysis of information provided in interviews by Dr. David Hasin, Bukhris, Amos Goren and Shlomo Reisman; and Tamir, quoted by IDF Radio, “Jonathan,” op. cit.
54. There is no apparent basis to the claim that has been made that Muki Betser did not go into his entrance because it was “blocked” or “non-existent.” In his written report immediately following the raid, Muki stated that he “bypassed” his assigned entrance “by mistake.” Furthermore, Amir Ofer says, “That door was there…[and] was not blocked. I know that for a fact…it was merely closed. [When the fighting was over] people exited through it.”
55. The claim that Muki Betser participated in killing the fourth terrorist in the large hall is, in all likelihood, erroneous. Such an action was not witnessed by the other participants, and careful review of Muki’s varied and conflicting accounts of the liquidation of the terrorists in the large hall leads one to the conclusion that such an event did not take place. (Similarly unconfirmed is the claim that Muki killed an Ugandan soldier while the force made its way from the vehicles to the building.) As to the claim made by Muki that Amos, Amir and Amnon fired, together with Muki, on the hostage Jean Jacques Maimoni and killed him — such a claim is erroneous Amos, Amir and Amnon did not participate in the incident.
56. Shaul Mofaz and Ilan Blumer, interviews
57. IDF Radio, “Jonathan,” op. cit
58. Ilan Blumer, interview.
59. IDF Radio, “Entebbe,” op. cit.
60. Israel Television, “Now is the Time,” op. cit.
61. Shlomo Reisman, interview.
62. Peres, “Entebbe,” op. cit.
63. Benjamin Netanyahu, ed., International Terrorism: Challenge and Response, (The Jonathan Institute: Jerusalem, 1980), p. 201.