Netanyahu, the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit Kenya, responded to Kenyatta’s announcement.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Uganda, the first leg of his tour of Africa during which he will also visit Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia. “It was perhaps in Entebbe where this transformation was seen by the world”.
Netanyahu will visit the old terminal at Entebbe-still the airport for the capital Kampala-where the walls are still scarred by bullet holes.
“Forty years ago, Israeli commandos landed here in the dark of night to fight against a cruel dictator who worked with terrorists”, Netanyahu said, referring to Uganda’s former despot leader Idi Amin Dada.
Netanyahu laid a wreath at the mass graves honoring the more than 800,000 victims of the genocide perpetrated by Hutu extremists against the Tutsi ethnic group and moderate Hutus.
At Entebbe, there will be a formal ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the Israeli rescue mission and Netanyahu will be given a tour of the airport’s control tower, according to a draft schedule released by Uganda’s government.
Mr Netanyahu, who is pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations, has already been to Uganda and Kenya this week and was moving on to Ethiopia later on Wednesday.
On June 27, 1976, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by two Palestinian and two German hijackers.
Most passengers were let go, except the Israelis. More than 100 mostly Israeli hostages were freed. During the operation, Kenya allowed Israeli forces to use its airspace, refuel and treat injured hostages.
Amin’s son Jaffar, a 10-year-old boy when the Entebbe raid took place, welcomed the commandos to Uganda this month as a “sign of reconciliation”, remembering the stories his father told after he was deposed and forced into exile.
He has said the trip symbolises “dramatic changes” in the relationship between Israel and Africa.
Relations were also not helped by Israel’s friendship with the apartheid regime in South Africa before its fall in 1994. Roads have been closed as part of the security for Netanyahu’s visit causing hours-long traffic snarl-ups.
Other leaders that attended the mini regional summit include Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Zambian President Edgar Lungu, South Sudan’s President Salva Kirr, Ethiopia Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Malawi’s President Peter Muthariki and Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs minister Augustine Mahiga.
On his part, PM Netanyahu said Israel views Kenya as its best partner in Africa and that the two countries share common opportunities.
The Heads of State and Government looked forward to further cooperation between their countries and Israel, both bilaterally and multilaterally, the statement added.
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“With the visit of the prime minister, I believe that the relations of Kenya and Israel will be solidified and expanded”, Albert Attias, chairman of the Jewish community in Kenya, said. He is traveling with 80 businessmen in order to cultivate trade ties in Africa.
