Thunderbolt

June, 2016 – Paris, France

The view from the tenth floor window was mesmerizing. A beautiful setting sun, cool fragrant evening breeze and people walking gracefully in the fresh twilight hour of the day. Looking at the pleasant view, Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, adjusted the microphone on his shirt and went back to his chair waiting for the interview to begin.

The studio was set to host the sixty year old Oliver Cojot. A young and charming French anchor was excited to interview him. Adjusting the sheets of paper in her hand she began, “Thank you Mr. Cojot for your time and agreeing to meet us. We appreciate your courage and this story continues to inspire people even today.” Shifting her gaze slightly and looking into the side camera, she continued “Oliver Cojot is one of the 102 hostages rescued by the Israeli Defense Force back in 1976. The valor, determination and rigor of this mission is so dynamic that it has left a special mark in history. Today, on the rescue mission’s fortieth anniversary, we have invited Olivier Cojot to share his side of the story, and talk about the mission’s effect on a personal and global level.”

Looking back at Oliver Cojot, she warmly smiled, held it for a moment and then in an equally warm voice began, “It’s been forty years to that event today but it’s still one of the most breathtaking stories in the world. How do you feel about it today, sir?” He looked at her.
A sudden flash of memory of all the hostages running around, crying, screaming and scared passed by his eyes like a flake of dust. “Yes, it’s been forty years today…. but it still feels like everything happened just yesterday. I was only twelve then and my father had taken me to visit Israel” he began narrating as the memory came back gushing to him.

June 1976 – Athens, Greece

Wilfried Bose was standing tall in front of little Oliver Cojot holding a gun aimed at him. The flight had just taken off from its stop at Athens, and was still in its elevation midair when four terrorists sprang up from their seats and holding guns took control of the flight. There was fear, cry and chaos all across the Air France flight 139 and Michael skipped a heartbeat seeing a gun pointed at his son Oliver. Wilfried Bose left the kid and leaped into the cockpit. Pointing his gun at the pilot, he asked him to switch off the radiator and break contact with the base station. Petrified and helpless, the pilots and passengers surrendered obeying their orders.  When things got in his control, Bose picked up the internal radio and in his German accent, he began “This flight is hijacked and is now under the control of the Popular Front for Palestine Liberation, the PFLP. We don’t intend to harm you, we just need you to coordinate with us and follow instructions.” The flight which had taken off from Tel Aviv in Israel was flying to Paris with a stop in Athens where these four terrorist boarded. Wilfried Bose then went back to the cockpit to give next instructions and the hostages saw their flight suddenly change its direction.  

“What was going through your mind? Especially because you are neither a Jew nor an Arab but still got into this crossfire?” asked the French anchor to Oliver sitting in front of her in the studio.
“It was a living hell. We were terrified and didn’t know what was going on. They collected our passports and were flashing their ammunitions the entire time. But I feel worse for the tragic situation between Israel and Palestine. The PFLP looked at themselves as freedom fighters, not terrorist. Their motive was to eliminate Jews from their land. Another group in Germany called the Revolutionary Cells collaborated with the PFLP against Jews. Hijacking flights, ambushing attacks, suicide bombers were some of their ways of expressing discontent” said Oliver in a mellow voice.
“Yes, that’s true. A lot of blood has been lost in that conflict. So what happened after that? Where were you all taken?”

Libya, North Africa

Unexpected to everyone the flight was landed at the Benina airport in Libya. Muhammad Gaddafi was the dictator of Libya at that time and infamous for his cruelty. But contrary to everyone’s fear, Gaddafi empathized with the hostages, offered them food, and allowed the flight to refuel. Horrified by the happenings around, a British born Israeli lady pretended to be ill due to pregnancy. She called for immediate medic support under the false pretense of having a miscarriage. The terrorist didn’t budge her initially. They asked if there was any doctor on the flight and Pasco Cohen rose up to volunteer. He went near the lady and examined her. He knew right away but then he looked into her eyes. On Pasco’s suggestion she was immediately released on medical grounds and then transported to England on the next flight. Her fake pregnancy and co-hostage Pasco’s generosity had done the work for her but not for the rest 259 hostages on the plane. After four hours the plane began taxing on the runway and took flight again for a new and unknown destination.

Uganda, East Africa

The Air France flight slowly came to a halt again. It had now come to the Entebbe airport in Uganda’s capital city Kampala. The passengers were ordered to stay seated as a big black Mercedes surrounded by security vehicles came towards the flight. Idi Amin, Uganda’s president, got out of the Mercedes and entered the flight. All the hostages sighed a breath of relief to see him enter. Idi Amin and Israel have had a good relation and as a matter of fact this very airport was constructed by Israeli engineers. With every step he took towards the flight, hope within the hostages raised. Idi Amin entered the flight, glanced around and moved towards the lead hijacker Bose. The hostages were expecting some action from the president in their defense, but when Idi Amin extended his arm, Bose shook it with warmth and they both hugged each other. 

Disappointed, the hostages formed a line as instructed and started moving towards the Old Terminal building where they were planned to keep. The Entebbe airport had constructed a new terminal while the old one was defunct. All the 249 hostages entered the big hall of this Old terminal building. They were provided with food, medical check-ups, lavatory facility, mattresses and other supplies.

A few hours later, Bose, their lead hijacker came forward holding a megaphone speaker in his hand. Seeing him come all the hostages stopped in their activities. “I hope you have all the basic amenities here” he began. “As I said before, we don’t intend to harm any of you as long as you co-operate with us. Our fight is not with you but with your Israeli government. We are contacting them with our demands and as soon as they agree we will release you.” There was chatter around as half the members who didn’t speak English were confused. Michael Cojot rose up from his place and offered to translate it to the French hostages.  

“Michael, my father, had become a translator during the hijack” said Oliver reminiscing his father. “My father was going through a rough patch himself on a personal front” he continued looking at the French host. “He was having a divorce with my mum and this hijack also brought back memories of his own father who too was killed in a terrorist attack.”

Jerusalem, Israel

It was 10pm and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called an emergency meeting of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. It was a matter of national pride and above all safety of its citizens. “The PFLP has taken responsibility of this hijack” began Rabin addressing his ministers. “They have demanded release of fifty terrorists. The lives of 250 people is at stake.”
“We cannot bend down in front of the terrorists, Rabin. If we bend once, it will set precedence” said Shimon Peres, Israel’s defense minister.
“I hear you, Shimon. Can you come up with a rescue mission within the next 48 hours? If we don’t come up with an exchange by then, they will slaughter all the hostages.” There was a lot of debate amongst the ministers and given the severity of the situation, pressure was mounting. There were a lot of variables. The hostages were not just Israeli citizens, there were French and some US citizens too. “As of now we will go ahead and negotiate with the terrorists. We don’t have an option. If Shimon comes up with a feasible rescue plan, we may think about that option. We will reconvene tomorrow afternoon” he said and left. On his way out, he pulled out his phone and called, “I want you here tomorrow morning, Barlev. Vacation over buddy.”

Entebbe Airport, Uganda

There were Ugandan soldiers surrounding the airport now and two more Arabs from the PFLP joined the first four. All the hostages inside the Old terminal building were trying to find comfort in their mediocre arrangements. They had now started talking, knowing more about each other and chatting to pass time. Pasco Cohen, the Israeli doctor was addressing to everyone’s medic needs calmly. A while later Wilfried Bose came in holding a sheet of paper in his hand. Michael stood up from his place and went near him to translate his announcements. “I hope you had your meals. We thank you for your coordination.” His tone was a little soft this time. “We have started negotiating with the Israeli government and as a token of good faith we will be releasing hundred hostages tomorrow. I have the list of names in my hand and we expect these people to be ready by tomorrow noon” he announced and left the room handing the list of names to Michael. There was a loud cheer and joy in the room.

“Were you on that list Mr. Cojot?” asked the French host to Oliver.
“Yes, I was but not my father. Only kids and non-Jews were on that list. I didn’t want to leave him and I remember resisting the entire time. An hour before our release, my father came to me and slid a piece of paper in my back pocket.”
“Will you handle this with care for me?” he asked.
“What was in it? A letter to your mother, a note to the Israelis?” asked the host curiously. Oliver smiled. 

Jerusalem, Israel

“These are live satellite pictures of the Entebbe airport received from the United States and this is the map retrieved from our engineers who constructed the airport” said Yoni resting his one hand on the big map and the other on those photographs. Yoni Netanyahu was Israeli Defense Force’s young and dynamic officer. In his short career, he had been a part of Israel’s key missions. Hearing about the hijack, he cancelled his vacation with his young wife and had reported back to plan a rescue mission.
“What is the status of the rescue plan?” asked Shimon.
“I think we can pull something off but there are a lot of moving parts and the risk seems very high at this point.”
“We don’t have time Yoni. I acknowledge your novelty and appreciate your zeal but this is a critical mission. Put your best minds together, use whatever resources you need. I sanction everything and anything but just came up with a feasible plan that we can take to Rabin for approval. He and the ministers have started negotiating with the terrorist.”

Entebbe airport, Uganda

With the remaining hostages, the big living room looked even more spacious. The hijackers had put a make shift partition dividing the room in two halves. All the hostages were wondering about the wall when Bose came back with his team to break the suspense. He started announcing names one by one. All those people were told to go on the other side of the partition. After the partition was complete, it was clear that the division was based on religion and all the Jews were sent to the other room.

Jerusalem, Israel

“Why would you need an old retired officer like me, Mr. Prime Minister?” joked Barlev standing inside Rabin’s office.
“No time for jokes Barlev. You are going to be our negotiator with Idi Amin and the PFLP. Get on a call with your old friend Idi Amin. Convince him to help us release the hostages or at least get us an extension.” Rabin said and left his office hurriedly for another meeting.  

Rabin entered Shimon’s office. Yoni Netanyahu was ready with a rough rescue plan. Yoni unfolded the long sheet of plan on the desk to explain. After an animated and suspenseful discussion for forty minutes Rabin said, “The plan looks good, but there are still a lot of risk factors like where will our airplanes refuel? How exactly will our soldiers ambush inside the airport. I know there is Lake Victoria besides the airport but that’s replete with crocodiles. I cannot approve this plan right now” said Rabin appreciating the efforts and rejecting it the same time. “Until you come up with a solid plan I’m continuing the negotiations. We are fortunate that Barlev was able to get us a three day extension.”

Entebbe airport, Uganda

It was late in the night, stars shimmering in the dark and serene black sky. A soft reflection of moon in the lake was beautifully illuminating the daunting canvas of the Entebbe airport. Michael Cojot was sitting in the garden along with co-hostage Dora Bloch.
“So Michael you must be excited to see your name on the second list of hostages being released?” asked the sixty year old Dora. The hijackers had announced a second list of fifty names to be freed in response to Israel’s willingness to negotiate.
Michael chucked and said, “Yeah, sure. Why not? I get to see my kids.”
Dora looked at him and asked, “Are you not happy Michael?”
Michael took a brief pause and staring at the ground began, “During the holocaust, my father had gone out to the market to get me candies. I wanted to go with him but he left me home. He was killed by the Nazis that day. It haunts me even today. If I leave from here then I’ll be of no use to the hostages, I’m at least doing my part as a translator here” he said in a mellow and cracking voice. “My wife hates me. I think she’d want me dead here.” He didn’t know Dora much but something in her comforted him.
“You are wrong, Michael. Sometimes there are dreadful events in life but you have to own them, accept the situation and move on. Only you can make yourself mentally strong” said Dora in a soft and caring voice. “Listen to me, you can do a lot more for us by flying out and providing information to the Israeli defense force. Go and embrace the new life.”

Jerusalem, Israel – one day to the deadline

Yoni hadn’t slept the entire night planning the impossible rescue mission. He got back home at three in the morning, took a quick shower and went to take a nap. His wife was fast asleep. He woke up at six, got ready, and went to hug her before leaving for the mission. But she had already left for work. He wrote a note for her, kissed his dog, and left. Shimon Peres was waiting for him in the lounge outside Rabin’s office for his final pitch. Yoni was careful and had planned every bit of the plan with precision. Rabin liked the plan and said, “This is great work. I am in on this plan. But I will still have to run this by our ministers and take majority votes before giving you an official green signal.” Yoni looked happy.
“Thank you, sir. Since the deadline is ending today midnight, we will have to leave by 1530 hours today to reach Uganda on time. I hope we have a decision before that time” said Yoni sighting his concern to expedite.
Shimon had a straight face though. He looked at Rabin and said, “Rabin I understand your position. The situation is really complicated. And the world will understand us if we give in to the terrorist demands… but they will not respect us. On the other hand, if we try to pull off a rescue mission and fail, the world may not understand us but they will surely respect us.”
Rabin nodded. He knew Shimon was right.
“I have called for an emergency Knesset meeting at noon, so hopefully by 1530 hours we’ll have a decision.”

Yoni and his team were ready at the base station. The four Hercules 130 special airplanes were loaded. A black Mercedes and Land Rover disguised as Ugandan army vehicles to confuse Idi Amin’s men was parked inside the huge airplanes. Yoni was sitting alone on a side bench waiting for the final decision. There was a storm of thoughts going through his mind at that instance. He was walking on a razor thin line of either Israel’s biggest catastrophe or its greatest feat. Although he was a respected officer inside the Israeli camp, no one outside the force had ever heard of him. Even if he has to die today, it wouldn’t matter to anyone. He will always be a secret mascot of the Israeli force and such people aren’t recognized in the light of the day or allowed to celebrate glimmers of the night sky. He was having a semi emotional break down. The secrecy of this plan was of utmost importance. A small mistake, and the entire plan would go down taking lives of over hundred innocent people, Israeli’s premium army force tainting the country’s image globally. Yoni was the man standing quietly between the PFLP’s motives and Israel’s image. He looked at his fingers, his wedding ring was shining under the bright summer sun. He kissed his ring and felt sad for not being able to see his wife before going on such a high risk mission.

Around 1520 hours, ten minutes before they needed to fly, his phone rang.
“So is it green or red, Mr. Defense Minister?
“I’m sorry but there is no decision yet, Yoni. The ministers are debating since the last three hours and it doesn’t seem to end very soon” said Shimon in a depressed voice.
“Are you implying to abort this mission? Don’t do that Shimon.”
Shimon paused for a brief moment. Yoni could hear his nervous breath over the phone.
“Go ahead Yoni. I give you the green signal on my responsibility.”
Yoni smiled, “Thank you Shimon. You have my word – I will either come back victorious, or I’ll come back dead.”
“Good luck, son. You will come back victorious.”
“Well, before you hang up, there’s something else I’d want to say” there was a slight awkwardness in Yoni’s voice but he continued, “You have always been my inspiration Shimon. I lost my father at an early age but for some mysterious reason my stubborn heart kept seeking that warmth from you. The world will remember you as a brave politician, but I will remember you as a person who held my hand when I needed it the most.” Shimon didn’t say anything. He was speechless.
“Make us proud, son” replied Shimon and disconnected. Both had soft tears floating in their eyes. Somewhere inside them they both knew that this could be their last conversation.

Yoni getting back in his full spirit and energy, pushed away the cloud of melancholic thoughts and got into his role of the dynamic commander of the Israeli defense force. Running towards the center of the hall, clapping, at the top of his voice he began briefing his team. His presence, his liveliness, just the way he poured in energy amongst his men gave them the motivation to fight. It was Yoni’s show now. After the briefing all men got into their assigned planes and it was 15:32 when the first Hercules aircraft left the base station and took flight for its destiny.

As per the plan, all four Hercules were supposed to land at Entebbe with a time lapse of ten minutes. It was a long journey and to avoid being captured by other country’s radar, they were flying at a very low altitude. Yoni checked his watch, it was 22:15, just 45 minutes to land. In the next few moments he got his men ready for action, briefed the entire plan again and made sure the black Mercedes and Land Rover are ready. Air pressure in the aircraft’s tires was kept at minimum to cancel landing sound when they touch down. As the flight began its decent, everyone’s heart skipped a beat. But to god’s grace, the aircraft didn’t flip or slide and was landed with just a faint screech. It was 23:01 when they landed. As soon as it landed, ten commandos jumped from the side door and laid electric lanterns along both sides of the runway in case the Ugandans switched off the runway light for the next aircrafts.

The black Mercedes was unloaded out and began its journey towards the Old terminal building followed by the Land Rover. The color, style and number plate of the vehicles was exactly as that of any Ugandan vehicle. Yoni was with three other snipers inside the black Mercedes while the Land Rover was filled with soldiers to provide more firing power. They drove the vehicles at normal speed to avoid suspicion. The land rovers were carrying a single belt fed Mag 7.62mm machine gun that could fire bullets every second. Most of the soldiers were carrying AK-47s. Both vehicles reached the Old terminal building where the hostages were captured.   

The commandos got off the vehicle right in front of the building and thrashed open the door. Yoni was at the very back giving support in case the terrorist attacked from behind. He was moving stealthily and killed two snipers rushing in from the sides elegantly. He looked around and did a quick safety check before proceeding. As he began to get inside the old terminal hall a sniper from the control tower top spotted Yoni and fired bullets at him. The bullets coming from a distance hit Yoni unexpectedly on his arm and waist, and he fell down on the ground. Seeing him down, the second in-command Muki Bester held him by his other arm and took him to a safe spot. Yoni was panting but alive.  

Inside the Old Terminal hall, Ilan Hartuv was playing bridge with two others when they heard gunfire outside. With every minute the sound was getting louder and they could feel it gradually come towards them. There was silence for few seconds and then in the next moment they saw the two terrorists guarding the doorway fly back inside, flipping in air and falling down flat followed by an army of snipers ambushing in through the doorway. The Israeli army had finally got inside the hall where the hostages were held. They shouted for everyone to lie low and avoid coming in the crossfire. Wilfried Bose immediately hid himself behind a door and loaded his machine gun. He bent down a little and started firing bullets at the Israeli army. The terrorist at the far end started throwing grenades. The commandos immediately hid themselves. When there was no back fire coming from the Israelis, Bose stood up and began taking steps gingerly towards the door to close it. As soon as he stepped out, Muki Bester rose out of nowhere and shot him point blank on forehead. That was the end of Wilfried Bose. Within the next few minutes all six terrorist were killed. There was a lot of smoke and some silence in the hall. As they were about to lower their gun, a man covered in bed sheets rose from the ground and began running. A soldier shot right at him and the man fell down instantly. Muki ran towards the fallen man and uncovered his sheet. It was a hostage – Pasco Cohen. The doctor.

Outside Yoni was struggling with his life. He was trying to breathe as much as possible with one eye at any incoming terrorists. Lying down there in the corner, he had killed two terrorists who tried to attack the Israeli army from behind. It had now been twenty minutes for the operation and the third Hercules aircraft had landed. The job of this aircraft was to go at the very end of the airport and blast all the MiG fighter planes that were parked in the airport parking lot. There was a loud thud, clouds of fire that rose from the ground into the air followed by smoke. All eight mirage fighter jets were burnt down within minutes.

The situation was nullified inside the Old terminal hall where the hostages were kept. All the terrorist and Ugandan army were killed and the firing had stopped. It was all clear. They asked the hostages to form a line and radioed the first Hercules pilot to get ready for take-off. All the hostages boarded the flight. The army did a quick headcount check and found that they were missing one person. Outside the plane was a hesitant Ilan Hartuv who wasn’t ready to board the flight.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” asked an agitated Muki to Ilan.
“I cannot board this flight?”
“We don’t have time for this, sir. Please get on. A back up Ugandan force might be on its way”
In a loud crying voice Ilan said, “Yesterday, my mother Dora Bloch was taken to the hospital after she reported difficulty in breathing. She is still there. Alone. And if I don’t go get her now, they will kill her tomorrow.”
Muki was shocked and marveled at the unfortunate timing.
He took a brief pause and said, “I’m sorry to hear that sir but if you stay here, they will kill you too. There is no way out now. If you board the flight and we get back home safe, then we can pressure the Ugandan government for her release. But we need you alive for that” Muki said and pulled Ilan inside. Taxing over the short runway path, the pilot opened throttles of the aircraft and the massive Hercules plane – with its cargo of hundred emotional hostages, fifteen injured commandos along with a smiling Yoni leaped into the full moon sky.

Nairobi, Kenya

The Israeli diplomats meeting with the Kenyans a couple of days back had worked. The Kenyans allowed the Israeli aircrafts to refuel and spot for another airplane carrying medical support staff. As soon as the rescue flight landed at the Nairobi airport, the medical staff attended to stabilize the more seriously injured hostages. Yoni was taken straight to the medical room and put on life support. There were three doctors ready to operate him right away. Within an hour, all the Israeli aircrafts took flight and were on their way back home to freedom and safety.

Paris, France

“The whole success of this mission laid in its unexpectedness. Like a sudden flash. In a way where the action happens first and then the sound follows. Like a thunder. Like a thunderbolt” said Oliver looking at people in front of him in the studio.
Everyone in the room was dumb struck. They could imagine the entire sequence of events and emotions ran through them as if they were a part of the rescue mission.
Breaking her stare and marvel the host asked Oliver, “Umm… This is unbelievable. You mentioned that this mission changed a lot of things. It changed the world looked at international terrorism. My head’s just spinning around it.”
Oliver chuckled. “Yes, the mission did have a solid aftermath on a political front. Idi Amin’s image was tainted forever. He order killing of Kenyan citizens living in Uganda. Uganda’s economy and infrastructure collapsed within two years and Idi Amin had to abscond to save life from his own people. Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, received appreciation from across the world and people started exemplifying their national pride. Western countries stood with Israel and glorified their achievement. The UN took note of international terrorism for the first time and passed a resolution that condemned hijacking and similar such acts.”
“And what happened to Yoni, Dora and your father Michael? I feel so much connected to them now” asked the French host.
“Yoni turned out to be the hero of this entire operation. All the Israeli commandos came out safe from the mission. But under that moonlit night, chest filled with pride, Yoni left his body. He was only thirty years old. But Yoni was wrong. He thought no one cared of his existence. Although he was unknown to the world during his lifetime, he had become a household name throughout Israel within hours of the mission. He was later awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service. Yoni’s brother Benjamin Netanyahu is Israeli’s prime minister today. Pasco Cohen who medically aided his fellow passengers throughout the hijack irrespective of their religion got accidentally shot by the Israeli force due to a small mistake and died. And Dora, no one till date knows what actually happened with her in that hospital. Her son filed hundreds of complaints, put diplomat pressure but the Ugandans refused admission of any such patient in their hospital. But that’s how life is, isn’t it? We don’t know when the last good byes are. As for my father, he didn’t actually want to come back home that day. He felt there wasn’t much left for him in his life. Waiting for him back home was just loneliness and the pain of divorce proceedings. It was because of Dora’s pep talk in the garden that he changed his mind. He came back, helped the Israeli force with accurate information and turned out to be an asset. And that piece of paper that he had given me was an actual map of the airport with details. After that incident, he made peace with his father’s death and lived a content life. Just like Israel, even he was at a low point, but they both did not make it their lowest point. Sometimes, you may feel like there are people, forces up against you, and that everything’s over and nothing’s going to change. But things change, situations flip, and time rewards the own who showed patience, so just embrace the pain and always choose life.