Hijacking film reveals truths

Berlin – A film depicting the 1976 hijacking of an airliner to Entebbe, Uganda, and the spectacular rescue of passengers by Israeli commandos casts light on the enduring obstacles to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, its director said.

7 Days in Entebbe, which premiered on Monday at the Berlin Film Festival, focuses on the hostages and their four hijackers – two militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two from an allied West German ultra-leftist group.

The flight was en route from Tel Aviv to Paris on June 27, 1976 when – after a stopover in Athens where the hijackers slipped on board – it was diverted to Entebbe. The four hijackers, who were joined by several others, freed 148 non-Israeli passengers and kept 94 mainly Israeli passengers along with the 12 crew members.

In the film, as terrified hostages await their fate in a grimy, disused airport terminal building, Israeli politicians debate whether to negotiate with the hijackers – who want dozens of imprisoned Palestinian guerrillas and other militants freed – but ultimately decide on the rescue mission.

After a 4 000km undercover flight, elite Israeli commandos stormed the building, saving all but four of the hostages, who were killed, and killing all the hijackers. – Reuters