Editing Shimon Peres (section)

==Minister of Defense (1974–1977)==
Peres was appointed minister of defense in the [[Yitzhak Rabin]]-led [[Seventeenth government of Israel|17th government]], after having been Rabin's chief rival for the post of Labor Party leader (and, in effect, the Israeli premiership) in the [[1974 Israeli Labor Party leadership election]] that was held after Golda Meir resigned in the aftermath of the [[Yom Kippur War]].<ref name = NYTdeath /><ref name = CV />

===1976 Entebbe rescue operation===
{{main|Operation Entebbe}}

On 27 June 1976, Peres, as minister of defense, in collaboration with Prime Minister Rabin, handled Israel's response to a coordinated act of [[terrorism]] when 248 Paris-bound travelers on an Air France plane were taken hostage by pro-Palestinian [[Aircraft hijacking|hijackers]] and flown to [[Uganda]], Africa, 2,000 miles away.

Peres and Rabin were responsible for approving what became known as the "Operation Entebbe", which took place on 4 July 1976. The rescue boosted the Rabin government's approval rating with the public.<ref name=NYT-76>Smith, Terence. [https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/16/archives/uganda-rescue-gives-big-boost-to-rabin.html "Uganda Rescue Gives Big Boost to Rabin"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331235121/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/16/archives/uganda-rescue-gives-big-boost-to-rabin.html |date=31 March 2018 }}, ''New York Times'', 16 July 1976</ref> The only Israeli soldier that was killed during the successful rescue operation was its commander, 30-year-old Lieutenant Colonel [[Jonathan Netanyahu]], older brother of [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref>Chalk, Peter. ''Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Vol 1'', ABC CLIO (2013) p. 217</ref>

Before Rabin ultimately approved the rescue mission, he and Peres were at odds on how to proceed. Rabin was open to acquiescing to the terrorists' demands to release forty Palestinian militants if no military option presented itself. Peres, however, felt acquiescing to be a nonstarter, believing it would encourage further terrorism.<ref name="Telegraph_David">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11701064/Israels-raid-on-Entebbe-was-almost-a-disaster.html|title=Israel's raid on Entebbe was almost a disaster|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|author=Saul David|date=27 June 2015|access-date=9 February 2018|author-link=Saul David|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129005108/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11701064/Israels-raid-on-Entebbe-was-almost-a-disaster.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Rabin initially took steps to begin negotiations with the terrorists, seeing no other option. Peres felt that negotiating with terrorists would, in effect, be a surrender, and thought a rescue operation should be planned.<ref name=David>David, Saul. ''Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe'', Little, Brown Publishing (2015) ebook</ref>

Peres organized a secret Israel Crisis Committee to come up with a rescue plan. When a plan had been made, he met with commander Netanyahu a number of times.<ref name=Iddo>Netanyahu, Iddo. ''Entebbe: The Jonathan Netanyahu Story'', Balfour Books (2004) ebook</ref> During one of their final private meetings, they both examined maps and went over precise details. Peres later said of Netanyahu's explanation, "My impression was one of exactitude and imagination," saying that Netanyahu seemed confident the operation would succeed with almost no losses.<ref name=Iddo/> Netanyahu left the meeting understanding that Peres would do everything in his power to see that the operation went smoothly.<ref name=Iddo/>  Peres then went unannounced to [[Moshe Dayan]], the former minister of Defense, interrupting his dinner with friends in a restaurant, to show him the latest plan to get his opinion. Peres told Dayan of the objections that had been raised by Rabin and Chief of Staff, [[Mordechai Gur]]. Dayan dismissed the objections after reviewing the written details: "Shimon," he said, "this is a plan that I support not one hundred percent but one hundred and fifty percent! There has to be a military operation."<ref name=David/> Peres later got the approval from Gur, who became fully supportive.<ref name=David/> Peres then took the plan to Rabin, who had been lukewarm and still didn't like the risks, but he reluctantly approved the plan after Peres answered a number of key questions and Rabin learned that the cabinet had also endorsed it.<ref name=Bar-Zohar>Bar-Zohar, Michael; Mishal, Nissim. ''No Mission Is Impossible'', HarperCollins (2015) ebook</ref>

Shortly after the mission ended, Rabin recounted, "we called into my office seven of our top commanders...I told our friends in uniform that the honor of the Jewish people, their destinies, are challenged and what we are considering is not just a calculated risk in the military sense, but a comparative risk, which exists between surrender to terror and daring rescue stemming from independence."<ref name=LAT>''Los Angeles Times'', 19 July 1976, p. 15 and 16</ref>

After the success of the operation, Peres angled to receive some of the credit and adulation, somewhat competing with Rabin for credit.<ref name=LAT/>

===Unsuccessful February 1977 campaign for Labor Party leader===
{{main|February 1977 Israeli Labor Party leadership election}}

In February 1977, Peres challenged Prime Minister Rabin for the leadership of Labor Party, but lost to Rabin in a narrow 50.72% to 49.28% result in the vote by the party's Central Committee.<ref name="Kenig"/><ref name = NYTdeath /><ref name="closeracetypifies">{{cite web |last1=Eliason |first1=Marcus |title=Close race for party leadership typifies political challenges in Israel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/117921278 |via=Newspapers.com |work=Arizona Republic |agency=The Associated Press |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=21 February 1977 |access-date=27 May 2022 |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816020014/http://www.newspapers.com/image/117921278/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="parks1">{{cite news |last1=Parks |first1=Michael |title=Rabin wins renomination for Israeli premiership |via=Newspapers.com |work=The Baltimore Sun |language=en |date=24 February 1977}}:
*{{cite web |last1=Parks |first1=Michael |title=Rabin wins renomination for Israeli premiership |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373227680 |via=Newspapers.com |work=The Baltimore Sun |access-date=7 February 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |page=1 |date=24 February 1977 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125193609/http://www.newspapers.com/image/373227680/ |url-status=live }}
*{{cite web |last1=Parks |first1=Michael |title=Israeli party renominates Rabin |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/373227773 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Baltimore Sun |page=4 |access-date=7 February 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription |date=24 February 1977 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125193607/http://www.newspapers.com/image/373227773/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The leadership election was expected to determine who would lead the party into the [[1977 Knesset election]]. This was at moment when Labor was threatened with the prospect of losing its control of government after 28-consecutive years due to the rise of both the [[right-wing]] [[Likud]] bloc and the [[Centrism|centrist]] [[Democratic Movement for Change]], which were seen as collectively cutting into the Labor Party's support in the upcoming election. At the time, Rabin and Peres presented little policy difference, with Peres being seen as only slightly to the right of Rabin on domestic matters. Instead of positioning himself in contrast to the incumbent Rabin on policy, Peres instead capitalized off of the political atmosphere and staked his candidacy largely on an argument that the Labor Party needed to satisfy the nation's desire for change by choosing a new leader for itself.<ref name="closeracetypifies"/>