Speaking on Monday before talks with President Yoweri Museveni, Netanyahu said: “Exactly 40 years ago, Israel soldiers carried out a historic mission in Entebbe”.
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Prior to his departure for Africa, Netanyahu’s government approved a 50 billion shekel (about $12,932,430,500) plan to strengthen economic links and cooperation with African countries.
Netanyahu, the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit Kenya, responded to Kenyatta’s announcement.
“It might take a decade, but we will change the automatic majority against Israel”, he said.
In the 90-minute night rescue operation, the Israeli hostages were rescued, but Netanyahu’s brother Yonatan Netanyahu was killed.
Though Netanyahu declined to divulge details of the partnership, he said his government had a lot to offer in terms of security, particularly intelligence sharing to pre-empt attacks and also in the development sphere. In 2014, two of the three African countries on the council at the time – Nigeria and Rwanda – were instrumental in keeping the Palestinians from getting the nine votes they needed to get a resolution calling for Palestinian statehood adopted.
On Tuesday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the hatchet had since been buried.
Netanyahu after visiting the tower where the hostages rescue took place.
During his visit, Netanyahu will also join regional leaders in a summit on terrorism.
The relationship between Israel and Uganda has been good following the Entebbe raid with Israel advising Uganda on security, as economic and business ties continue to grow, culminating in Netanyahu’s visit to Africa, the first by an Israeli premier in decades.
And it wasn’t just the Ugandan president who expressed his love for Israel: dozens of ordinary Ugandans stood by the side of the streets where Netanyahu’s entourage passed through, enthusiastically waving Israeli flags.
He said this is essential not only for Israel, but also for all those who see terrorism as a common challenge. In addition to Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Museveni, the meeting was attended by the leaders of Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia.
He said Israel has developed capacity to fight terrorism and had advanced agriculture technologies which African countries could exploit.
State House has said the trip is important in strengthening relations with Israel, as Kenya seeks to expand worldwide trade.
Netanyahu is due to travel to Rwanda on Wednesday, where he will meet with President Paul Kagame and visit a memorial to the 1994 genocide, before traveling on to Ethiopia.
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The effort comes as Israel’s ties with some of its longtime allies such as the United States and European Union have come under strain recently.
