Reports in Sudan: Prime Minister Leads Opposition to Normalization with Israel

Sources in the Sudanese government will report to the Arab newspaper a-Shark this morning (Friday) that a dispute has arisen in the Sudanese government regarding agreement on the US proposal that Khartoum normalize its relations with Israel and in return be removed from the list of countries supporting terrorism.

Leading the oscillating faction is Prime Minister Abdullah Hamduk, the head of the civilian component of the Sudanese transitional government, which includes members of the country’s political parties and human rights organizations. One who tends to accept the American proposal is the president of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdullah al-Burhan, and members of the military apparatus who are also taking part in the transitional government.

According to a report in the a-Shark newspaper, Hamduk demanded that the demand for the establishment of relations with Israel be dismantled to remove Khartoum from the list of countries that support terrorism. It was further stated that Gado international pressure to exert pressure on the prime minister in order to withdraw from his positions in the past day.

It was reported yesterday that the Sudanese Transitional Council was in place to decide on the issue of establishing relations with Israel, CNN reports in Arabic – less than a day since the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the Trump administration gave Khartoum a 24-hour ultimatum to reach a decision. Political sources in Israel have confirmed in recent days that there is indeed progress in talks with Sudan.

According to senior officials in the Sudanese government, the United States has indicated that failure to meet the timetable could jeopardize the process of removing the state from the list of countries that fund terrorism. They added that the meeting has been going on for several hours.

The proposal for the Washington-Khartoum-Jerusalem triple deal includes a debt spread to Sudan, $ 600 million in humanitarian aid for food and medicine, and an agreement to cancel a $ 3 billion Sudan debt due next year.

The process with Sudan – which led to a 24-hour U.S. ultimatum to Khartoum starting yesterday – has been lengthy. It began on February 3, the date of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Sudanese Transitional Council President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Uganda. Since then, Khartoum Foreign Ministry spokesman Hyder Bedouin has expressed his country’s support for normalization with Israel in August – and was soon fired.

Sudanese Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council Muhammad Hamdel Dagalo said two weeks ago that “it is Sudan’s interest to establish relations with Israel. Our removal from the list of countries that fund terrorism depends on this matter.” He even hinted that Khartoum was not interested in Palestinian interests, and scolded Arab states that criticized others for normalizing with Israel. “We have no border with the Palestinians,” Degalo noted. “Even neighboring countries have already established relations with Israel.”

He also made sure to “close an account” with the visitors from the house of establishing a possible relationship with Israel, since in the view of one of the senior members of the local army – relations with Israel are in favor of Sudan.