The Sudanese council of ministers approved, Tuesday, April 6, a bill to repeal the boycott of Israel in force for sixty-three years, after the normalization by Sudan of its diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, at the end of 2020. This text still needs to be approved by the highest authority in the country, the Sovereignty Council, to have the force of law. The Council of Ministers also reaffirmed “The firm position of Sudan” in favor of the two-state solution, with the creation of a Palestinian state alongside that of Israel.
The 1958 law prohibits trade with the Jewish state, with persons of Israeli nationality or with companies owned by Israelis. Likewise, it prohibits the importation of products made even partially in Israel. Anyone violating this boycott risks up to ten years in prison and a heavy fine.
For a long time a pillar of the anti-Israel front in Africa, Khartoum notably hosted an Arab summit a few weeks after the Six-Day War, in 1967, where the resolution of the “three no’s” was announced: no to peace, no to peace. recognition and not negotiation with the Hebrew state. For decades and more during the thirty years of authoritarian rule of former President Omar al-Bashir, ousted from power in April 2019, Sudan maintained a very hard line towards the Jewish state.
Until 2020, only two Arab countries had diplomatic relations with Israel: Egypt and Jordan, respectively since 1979 and 1994. But last year, several Arab countries including Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have normalized their relations with Israel, under the aegis of Washington.
A rapprochement that is not unanimous
Seeking to reintegrate Sudan into the international arena, the transitional government agreed to do the same in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions against Khartoum. The “Abraham Agreements” signed in January by Sudan and Israel were concluded a few weeks after Khartoum’s withdrawal from the American “blacklist” of states accused of financing terrorism, which has hampered international investment for decades . Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen was the first Israeli official to make an official visit to Sudan in January.
Relying on these simultaneous diplomatic reconciliations, Khartoum hopes for an improvement in its economic situation. After decades of mismanagement, the Sudanese economy is now on its knees, weighed down by skyrocketing inflation, colossal debt and a chronic lack of foreign currency, which represent so many threats to the success of its political transition.
But the agreement with Israel has yet to be ratified by the legislature before it comes into force. Yet Sudan still does not have a parliament in place. And the rapprochement with the Hebrew state is far from achieving unanimity in Sudanese society. Sudanese notably demonstrated in January in front of the seat of government, burning Israeli flags and chanting anti-Zionist slogans. And in February, a conference on religious tolerance, in which a rabbi participated by videoconference, sparked a heated debate.
