The hijacking of the plane from Dubai this week brought back a scenario almost unheard of today: the mid-flight seizure of a commercial airliner. But Israeli history holds several such hijackings, some of which ended in rescue operations that became part of the state's legend.
Operation Isotope
Netanyahu stormed hijacked plane in 1972
Fifty-two years before the Dubai hijacking, four Black September terrorists seized a Belgian airliner bound for Israel and demanded the release of 315 prisoners. Sayeret Matkal retook the plane, with a young Bibi Netanyahu among the assault team.
The most famous is Operation Entebbe in 1976, in which Yoni Netanyahu, Bibi's older brother, commanded the assault force and was killed in the raid. But four years earlier, another operation took place, and in that one, it was Benjamin Netanyahu who was among the Sayeret Matkal commandos sent to retake a hijacked plane. He was even wounded in action.
They boarded as passengers - and seized the plane in the air
On May 8, 1972, four terrorists from the Black September organization boarded Sabena flight 571, operated by the Belgian airline, which had taken off from Vienna en route to Israel. Two men and two women boarded the plane and appeared to be ordinary passengers, but about twenty minutes after takeoff, when the aircraft was already airborne, they drew weapons and took control.
The hijackers entered the cockpit, threatened Captain Reginald Levy, and ordered him to continue toward Israel. Despite the situation, Levy kept his composure, tried to calm the hijackers, and even managed to transmit a distress signal alerting authorities to what was happening aboard the plane.
The aircraft continued to Israel and landed at Lod airport, which we know today as Ben Gurion, with its passengers and crew held hostage.
The demand: release 315 prisoners
After landing, the hijackers presented their demand: Israel would release 315 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, bring them to the airfield, and allow the plane to take off with them to Cairo. If the demands were not met, they threatened to blow up the plane with the passengers and crew inside.
Israel opened negotiations and tried to buy time. The hijackers were given the impression that progress was being made toward meeting the demands and releasing the prisoners, but behind the scenes, planning had already begun on how to retake the plane and rescue the hostages.
A parallel move was made: during the night, on orders from the security establishment, air was secretly let out of the plane's tires to prevent it from taking off.
The hijackers did not know it was deliberate sabotage. From their perspective, a technical malfunction had occurred that needed to be fixed before they could leave Israel, and that malfunction became a central part of the Israeli plan.
The "mechanics" were Sayeret Matkal commandos
The next day, the hijackers were offered a crew to service the aircraft. Sixteen men in white overalls approached the plane, looking like maintenance workers who had come to fix the problem and allow the plane to take off.
But the "mechanics" were in fact Sayeret Matkal commandos. The force was commanded by Ehud Barak, and among the fighters was Benjamin Netanyahu, then a young officer in the unit. Weapons were concealed, and the white overalls allowed the commandos to reach the plane without the hijackers realizing that the assault was about to begin.
Once they reached their positions, the signal was given and the commandos stormed into the plane.
The two male terrorists were killed during the takeover, and the two female terrorists were captured alive. The hostages were rescued, though one passenger who was wounded in the exchange of fire later died from her injuries. Netanyahu was also wounded during the operation, but not by fire from one of the terrorists. During the assault, he was accidentally shot by another Israeli commando.
The operation, officially called "Operation Isotope" but known as "Operation Sabena," became one of the memorable hijacked-plane retaking operations in Israel.
Four years later, Israel would again face a hijacked plane and hostages, this time in Entebbe. But then it would be Benjamin's brother, Yoni Netanyahu, who would lead the assault force and pay with his life during the rescue operation.
Operation Isotope| צילום: Photo: Public domain, IDF Spokesperson (Ron Ilan), IDF Archive at the Ministry of Defense. Used under Section 27a of the Copyright Act — footage from the aircraft.
