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Article: Israeli Air Force Gen. Benny Peled
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- July 16, 2002
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Benny Peled, a retired major general who commanded the Israeli air
force during the 1973 Mideast war and the dramatic rescue of Israeli
hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, died July 13 of emphysema. He
was 74.
Gen. Peled was highly respected as a fighter pilot and as head of
the air force, but he also had a reputation as a controversial figure
who often quarreled with Israel's political leadership.
He flew the first jet fighter that the air force acquired, a World
War II-vintage Gloster Meteor.
In the 1956 war against Egypt, when he was flying a French
Mystere, he was shot down by groundfire near Sharm e-Sheikh in the
Sinai Desert. Pursued by Egyptian troops, he was rescued by an
Israeli ...