AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): According to a report by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, Uganda's commemoration of this Zionist officer, who was killed 50 years ago during the rescue of Air France hostages hijacked and taken to Entebbe Airport, coincided with moves by several African countries, led by Burundi and Cameroon, to deepen their security, military, and economic ties with the Zionist regime. These moves enjoy broad support from Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, reinforcing the hypothesis of an emerging coalition among these actors in the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa, and the continent's center.
For example, Addis Ababa hosts the Zionist regime's embassy, which also has diplomatic accreditation in Burundi. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi supports Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's government and his regional moves regarding Sudan, South Sudan, and Nile waters.
This trend continues as the connection of African elites to the Palestinian cause faces a historical challenge rooted in the widespread acceptance of colonialism's official narrative, which portrayed Palestine as a land without people or as a territory lacking real history outside Zionist and Jewish narratives.
This narrative is also seen in the writings of some prominent figures of the anti-colonial Pan-African movement, such as Trinidadian pioneer George Padmore, who recounted his experience in Palestine under the British Mandate. Similarly, former Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah's relations with Israel extended to the point where his Black Star Line served Zionist regime trade through the Suez Canal in the 1950s. Until his overthrow in February 1966, Nkrumah insisted on separating African issues from the Palestinian cause.
Reasons for this situation may differ or be similar across countries, but what seems certain is that many African governments and regimes lack genuine popular legitimacy or even, in some cases, a stable constitutional order. These regimes rely on foreign support to ensure their survival and advance so-called developmental policies, increasingly tied to neo-colonial tools that perpetuate the plunder of African resources in exchange for a pittance.
In this atmosphere, the Zionist regime's influence in several African countries has gone beyond seeking political and ideological support to participating in ensuring the success of its policies in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip. In this framework, Uganda and Burundi have announced their intention to participate in the International Stabilisation Force, which will be deployed in Gaza under the Peace Council, with full support from the Zionist regime and the United States. Military officials from both countries, following joint talks in Israel in late August, announced that candidates for the mission have been selected.
Both countries have considerable experience in such missions, having contributed significant forces to peacekeeping operations in Somalia for over a decade.
Uganda and Burundi; On the Path to Deploying Forces to Gaza
On August 24, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's government announced its commitment to deploy 1,200 Ugandan soldiers to the Stabilisation Force, and various sources indicate Kampala is finalizing preparations for participation.
Regarding Burundi, the number of forces to be deployed to Gaza has not yet been specified, but they are expected to reach about 2,000, exceeding Uganda's contingent. However, according to observers, finalizing the decision still depends on the concessions Gitega will receive in return for participating in this international force.
In mid-August, The Times of Israel reported that senior army officers from Uganda and Burundi had visited Rafah in southern Gaza to conduct a field survey before troop deployment, strengthening the likelihood of Gitega nearing a final decision to participate, apparently linked to completing the agreement's terms with the Zionist regime. The nature of ongoing military dialogue and coordination suggests specific operational and geographical tasks will likely be assigned to the African forces, with their main deployment location in Rafah near the Egyptian border. The level of coordination with Cairo remains unclear, but given full US support, Washington may engage to secure more funding from Arab Gulf countries and encourage African participation.
From the Uganda Scheme to the Entebbe Coalition
At the height of British influence in East Africa, in April 1903, the British Empire proposed a plan known as the Uganda Scheme or the British Uganda Programme, following Theodor Herzl's long meetings in London from October 1902 and Joseph Chamberlain's brief visit to Mombasa. The plan aimed to establish a Jewish settlement with a degree of autonomy on about 13,000 square kilometers in the British East Africa Protectorate. However, opposition from some Jewish groups, particularly Russian ones, prevented its full implementation. Nevertheless, about 80 Jewish families independently settled in Mombasa and later moved to the Uasin Gishu plateau, but the project was largely abandoned after the Balfour Declaration. This historical background, however, laid the foundation for close ties between the Zionist regime and Uganda after its independence in 1962. Some Zionist historians believe Uganda, alongside Kenya, held an important place in David Ben-Gurion's so-called periphery alliance strategy. Between 1967 and 1969, Uganda played a key role in transferring Israeli weapons to South Sudan. Later, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin brought relations to an unprecedented level before severing ties.
Today, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni views ties with the Zionist regime as a guarantee for his continued rule and a foundation for transferring power to his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of the Ugandan armed forces. On August 25, Kainerugaba declared readiness for high office in 2031, days after attending the Yonatan Netanyahu statue unveiling. Some Ugandan reports suggest he is tasked with deepening ties with the Zionist regime alongside managing his succession files, including consolidating the "Entebbe Coalition" between Tel Aviv and Kampala to counter Iran. In March, he stated that while the world wants to end the war in the Middle East, any talk of destroying or defeating Israel would bring Uganda into the war on Israel's side. He had also announced plans for the statue, now realized, describing it as a step to strengthen "blood ties" between Uganda and Israel.
Meanwhile, Museveni, whose country hosted the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kampala in 2024, now serves US and Zionist projects by deploying Ugandan forces to disarm Palestinian resistance groups and change Palestine's political and security situation.
The Zionist Regime and Burundi; Controlling Geography
The possible participation of Burundian forces in the Gaza Stabilization Force reveals the depth of ties between Gitega and Tel Aviv. The Zionist regime assists Burundi in education, agriculture, defense, energy, and health, largely managed through the MASHAV agency. These moves cannot be separated from the regime's activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it sometimes provides conditional support to conflict parties.
An "Israeli Belt" in Africa
More broadly, the Zionist regime's prominent activities in Central and West Africa, alongside its extensive moves in the Horn of Africa, form part of a connected path to establish a geographic continuum of influence. This path begins in the Somaliland region in the east, passing through Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, then to the Central African Republic and Cameroon, extending to West African countries, shaping what can be called an "Israeli Belt" in Africa. This goes beyond reviving Ben-Gurion's periphery alliance policy, aiming to create a relatively continuous geographic belt that could encircle the Arab world and future weaken its cohesion, national security, and foundations.
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