Sudan and Israel have agreed to normalize relations, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday at the White House, a move that was denounced by Palestinians as a \u201cnew stab in the back\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3, sealed the agreement in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Transitional Council Head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, senior US officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe leaders agreed to the normalization of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations,\u201d a joint statement issued by the three countries read.<\/p>\n
Trump added that he expects the Palestinians and other nations, including Saudi Arabia, to also agree to closer ties with Israel in the coming months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be the third country where we\u2019re doing this \u2013 and we have many, many more coming,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
Khartoum is now the third Arab government to normalize relations with Israel in the last two months, after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.<\/p>\n
The UAE welcomed the Israel-Sudan deal, saying it is \u201can important step to boost security and prosperity in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sudan\u2019s acting foreign minister said on Friday, however, the agreement for normalising ties with Israel will depend on approval from its yet-to-be formed legislative council.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreement on normalization with Israel will be decided after completion of the constitutional institutions through the formation of the legislative council,\u201d Omar Gamareldin said on state TV.<\/p>\n
Sudan\u2019s yet-to-be-formed council still needs to be established under a power-sharing deal between the military officers and civilians, who have been running Sudan jointly since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. It is unclear when the assembly will be formed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u2018New stab in the back\u2019<\/p>\n
Speaking in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official Wasel Abu Youssef said Sudan\u2019s decision to normalize relations with Israel was a \u201cnew stab in the back\u201d for the Palestinians.<\/p>\n
\u201cSudan\u2019s joining others who normalized ties with the state of the Israeli occupation represents a new stab in the back of the Palestinian people and a betrayal of the just Palestinian cause,\u201d Abu Youssef said.<\/p>\n
He said the African state\u2019s decision to follow the UAE and Bahrain \u201cwill not shake the Palestinians\u2019 faith in their cause and in continuing their struggle\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the besieged Gaza Strip, Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the Palestinian group, Hamas, a traditional ally of Sudan, told the Reuters news agency the decision was a step in the \u201cwrong direction\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has sought to advance deals between Israel and Arab nations as part of its push to reach a so-called \u201cDeal of the Century\u201d to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict \u2013 and shore up support among the US president\u2019s Evangelical Christian base ahead of the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n
Speaking in front of reporters in the Oval Office, Trump asked Netanyahu \u2013 who was on speakerphone \u2013 if he believed Joe Biden, his Democratic presidential opponent whom he called \u201cSleepy Joe\u201d, could have helped broker such a deal.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu answered: \u201cOne thing I can tell you is we appreciate the help for peace from anyone in America, and we appreciate what you\u2019ve done enormously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu welcomed what he called a rapidly expanding \u201ccircle of peace\u201d and the start of a \u201cnew era\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Designation to be lifted<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s decision earlier this week to remove Sudan from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism paved the way for the deal with Israel, marking a foreign policy achievement for the Republican president as he seeks a second term trailing behind Biden in opinion polls.<\/p>\n
Trump announced on Monday he would take Sudan, which the US designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993, off the list once it had deposited $335m it had pledged to pay in compensation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sudan and Israel have agreed to normalize relations, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday at the White House, a move that was denounced by Palestinians as a \u201cnew stab in the back\u201d. Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3, sealed the agreement in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,1],"tags":[296,118,1069,966,698,252,290,639,178,211,56,213,84,642,27,638],"yoast_head":"\n