Peace deal looming for Israel, Sudan
JERUSALEM — Israel and Sudan on Tuesday said they are close to reaching a peace agreement — setting the stage for a possible second dramatic diplomatic breakthrough for Israel with its Arab neighbors in a matter of days.
A Sudanese Foreign Ministry official announced that his government is “looking forward to concluding a peace agreement with Israel,” drawing a pledge from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do all that’s needed” to wrap up a deal.
The announcements came days after Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties.
While Sudan does not have the resources and influence of the UAE, it has a far more hostile history toward Israel.
Sudan hosted the landmark Arab conference after the 1967 Mideast war where eight Arab countries approved the “three no’s”: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations.
In 1993, the U.S. designated Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism in part for its support of a number of anti-Israel militant groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
But in recent years those hostilities have softened, and both countries have expressed readiness to normalize relations.
Sky News Arabia quoted a Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying his government looked forward to a peace agreement “based on equality and Sudanese interests.”
“There is no reason to continue hostility between Sudan and Israel,” the spokesman, Haidar Badawi, was quoted as saying.
A Sudanese government official said that deliberations between Sudanese and Israeli officials have been going on for months, with help from Egypt, the UAE and the U.S.
In a statement Tuesday, Netanyahu said Israel, Sudan and the entire region will benefit from a deal. “We will do all that’s needed to turn this vision into a reality,” he said.
An Israeli deal with Sudan would mark a new setback for the Palestinians, who have long counted on the Arab world to press Israel to make concessions to them as a condition for normalization. That wall of Arab support had long served as one of the Palestinians’ few points of leverage against Israel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that he would reject a similar agreement to the Israeli-UAE deal made by another Arab country.
Addressing a PLO meeting in Ramallah, Abbas said that other Arab countries “are moving in secrecy and in public saying ‘why not?’ We are totally rejecting that.”
Sudan is desperate to lift sanctions linked to its U.S. terror listing — a key step toward rebuilding its economy after the popular uprising that toppled longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir last year.