It could be sheer coincidence, not wilful planning, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Israel on the 41st anniversary of 'Operation Thunderbolt', popularly known as 'Operation Entebbe'.


On July 4, 1976, Israeli commandos, led by Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, raided Entebbe airport where 105 hostages were being held. They were passengers of an Air France flight that was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists after taking off from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.


The operation lasted 90 minutes and 102 hostages were rescued. Yonatan Netanyahu died, the only fatality suffered by the commandos. He is still remembered as the Hero of Entebbe. He was the elder brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister. It's a day of remembrance for the Israeli prime minister and citizens.


This year, it will also become the day the first prime minister of India set foot on the soil of Israel, ending decades of shaming and shunning by the New Delhi Establishment of a natural ally and a true friend. In a sense, history will be made on this fourth of July by Modi's historic visit.

Kanchan Gupta reports from Tel Aviv for Rediff.com.

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