Sudan agrees to normalize relations with Israel-report
The report indicated that the formal and public announcement on the normalization of relations is expected to take place in the next few days.
By TOBIAS SIEGAL | The Jerusalem Post | October 22, 2020
Sudan has reportedly agreed to fully normalize relations with Israel, an initial report by Israel Hayom stated late Wednesday night.
According to Israel Hayom, the only mainstream outlet to publish the report so far, a political source involved in the diplomatic talks between Israel and Sudan confirmed that the countries will be normalizing relations very soon.
The report indicated that the formal and public announcement on the normalization of relations is expected to take place in the next few days, following an expected phone call between President Donald Trump and Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Earlier on Wednesday, both Regional Cooperation Minister Ofir Akunis and Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said that they believed Israel was close to normalizing ties with Sudan.
“I have a reasonable basis to believe that the announcement will come before Nov. 3 – that, if you’ll permit me, is what I understand from my sources,” Akunis told Israel’s Army Radio.
Akunis said several countries were candidates to normalize relations with Israel but did not name them, saying that it was customary to let the first official word come from Washington.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the US had begun the process of removing Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, although he could not yet specify an exact timing for completing the move.
When asked whether the decision was tied to a possible normalization of ties between Sudan and Israel, Pompeo replied: “We also are continuing to work to get every nation to recognize Israel, the rightful Jewish homeland, and to acknowledge their basic, fundamental right to exist as a country, and that certainly includes Sudan.
While Pompeo avoided connecting the removal of Sudan from the terror list with the issue of reaching normalization with Israel, several officials have stated that normalization was indeed considered a condition for the US agreeing to remove Sudan from the list.
Also on Wednesday, a private jet reportedly made its way from Ben-Gurion Airport to Khartoum, in the second time ever that such a flight took place, the first being a medical aid flight from Israel to Sudan.
Reuters and Omri Nahmias contributed to this report.
