Operation Entebbe is remembered as a triumph of military courage. But the mission also depended on something less visible: a relationship with Kenya that had survived the rupture of formal diplomatic ties. Long before the crisis, professional exchanges and development cooperation had created reservoirs of trust. When the decisive moment arrived, that trust became strategically invaluable.

The lesson for today’s Middle East is clear: the relationships that sustain peace during political shocks must be built before the crisis begins.

Kenya’s contribution was indispensable. President Jomo Kenyatta’s government quietly allowed Israeli aircraft to cross Kenyan airspace and land in Nairobi to refuel. It provided facilities for medical support and enabled Israeli intelligence activity ahead of the raid. By doing so, Kenya accepted a considerable political and security risk.

This cooperation was especially significant because Kenya had severed formal diplomatic relations with Israel following the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Official ties had been suspended 3 years before Entebbe, but the relationship between the two countries had not disappeared.

One of the foundations of that relationship was MASHAV, Israel’s international development programme. Through training and capacity-building, MASHAV brought Kenyan professionals to Israel and sent Israeli experts to Kenya. They worked together in agriculture, irrigation, food security, public health, medicine, education, community development, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, innovation and emergency preparedness.

These exchanges were not designed in anticipation of a hostage crisis. Yet they helped create the professional connections, familiarity and confidence that made cooperation possible when it mattered most.

Fifty years later, this diplomatic legacy offers an urgent lesson for the Middle........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)