Israel and Sudan have agreed to normalize diplomatic relations, US President Donald Trump announced Friday (October 23) – a move that must end decades of hostilities. It was in the Oval Office that he declared that the two enemy countries had made ” the peace “. Mr. Trump was on the phone, on loudspeaker, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Sudanese counterpart Abdallah Hamdok.
“Sudan and Israel have agreed to normalize their relations, to end the state of aggression between them”Sudanese state television confirmed Friday evening, referring to a joint statement from Sudan, the United States and Israel.
The Sudanese prime minister thanked Trump for deciding to remove his country from the list of states supporting terrorism, saying the move would have a major economic impact. “We –we will work to have diplomatic relations that serve the best interests of our people ”, Mr. Hamdok also tweeted.
“We are expanding the circle of peace so quickly thanks to your leadership”, said, for his part, Mr. Netanyahu. In a separate statement, the Israeli prime minister hailed a “Formidable turnaround” from Sudan. “Delegations from Sudan and Israel will meet soon to discuss cooperation in many areas, including agriculture, trade and other important areas,” added Netanyahu, who thanked the Sudanese leaders and the US president.
Mr Trump, lagging behind in polls eleven days before presidential election, rejoiced on Twitter of a “HUGE victory today for the United States and for world peace”. He also claimed that“At least five” other Arab countries wanted to normalize their relations with the Hebrew state, and said they expected Saudi Arabia to be among them: “Sudan has accepted a peace and normalization agreement with Israel! With the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, that makes THREE Arab countries in just a few weeks. Others will follow! “, wrote the tenant of the White House.
“A political sin”
Until last month, the only Arab states to recognize Israel were Egypt and Jordan. Washington has stepped up pressure for Khartoum to normalize relations with Israel ahead of the November 3 election. Just before the announcement of the agreement between the two countries, Mr. Trump announced that he would remove Sudan from the list of states supporting terrorism. The White House assures that there is no link between the lifting of US sanctions and normalization, but many observers believe the opposite.
Sudan, once the pariah of the international community for having welcomed the former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, had been ordered to pay compensation by the American justice system.
This normalization of relations between Israel and Sudan is particularly symbolic in the Middle East. After the Six-Day War, which in 1967 saw Israel seize the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, most of the Arab leadership gathered in Sudan to pass the Khartoum resolution, known for his “three no’s”: no to peace with Israel, no to recognition of Israel, no to negotiations with Israel.
The normalization of Sudan-Israel relations is “A political sin that harms the Palestinian people” and “To the national interest of Sudan and only benefits Netanyahu “reacted Hazem Qassem, the official spokesperson for Hamas, the movement in power in the Gaza Strip. “It is a painful announcement which goes against the history of Sudan, a country which supports the Palestinian cause”, said Sami Abou Zuhri, a Hamas executive.
Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which sits in the occupied West Bank, has “Condemned” the agreement, believing that Arab countries, including Sudan, could not “Speak on behalf of the Palestinian people”, and that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be a prerequisite for normalization between Israel and the Arab world, and not the other way around.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, whose country was the first in the region to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, in 1979, “Welcomed the joint efforts of the United States, Sudan and Israel”. “I appreciate all efforts aimed at achieving stability and peace in the region”, he tweeted.
