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US President Donald Trump said Friday that at least five other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, want to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
This comes after Sudan became the last country in the region to normalize its relations with Tel Aviv.
Trump told reporters at the White House: “There are at least five Arab countries that want to join,” hoping that Saudi Arabia will normalize its relations with Israel.
On Friday, the White House announced that Sudan and Israel had reached an agreement to normalize relations, following similar treaties between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel last month.
“We have at least five who want to join,” Trump told reporters at the White House during a three-way telephone conversation with the prime ministers of Israel and Sudan.
Trump described the Sudan-Israel peace deal as being carried out without “a drop of blood in the sand,” during a joint call with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, Sudan Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the announcement of the normalization of relations.
This step coincides with the White House announcement on Friday that Trump informed Congress of his intention to remove Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
For his part, Netanyahu said other Arab countries will make peace with Israel, adding: “We will soon discuss joint cooperation with Sudan and the Sudanese airspace will be open to us.”
“Israel will not oppose Washington selling advanced American weapons to the Emirates,” he added, emphasizing that Israel does not oppose any deal with Iran, but did oppose the latest deal.
#NetanyahuOther Arab countries will make peace with #Israel… and we will discuss joint cooperation with #Sudan Soon, Sudanese airspace will be open to us#Arabic pic.twitter.com/6bees4Knic
(@AlArabiya) October 23, 2020
Sudanese political forces declared their categorical rejection of normalization with Israel, including the National Umma Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, and the Nasserite Democratic Unionist Party.
Trump decided this week to remove Sudan from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism, paving the way for a deal with Israel, in what represents a foreign policy achievement for Trump in his quest to win a new term, while the Opinion polls indicate that he lags behind his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
The normalization of relations with Sudan has great symbolism. After the 1967 setback and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, most Arab leaders met at a summit in Khartoum.
They adopted a resolution known as the “Three No’s”, which is neither reconciliation nor recognition nor negotiation with Israel.
Sudan has no borders with Israel (the same goes for the Emirates and Bahrain), and it played a small role in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Last February, the head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, held a meeting with the Israeli prime minister in Uganda.
A Sudanese government source revealed on Thursday that a joint US-Israeli delegation visited Khartoum on Wednesday and met with Burhan and discussed the normalization of relations between Sudan and Israel.
Read also:
Agreement between Israel and Sudan to normalize relations with the US mediation
Sudan: Hamdok is ready for normalization with Israel on one condition … What is it?
Anadolu Agency: a Sudanese writer who participated in a “normalization” workshop with Israelis
A Sudanese businessman announces that he is organizing a trip to Israel to accelerate normalization (video)
“A Sudanese mufti” authorizes normalization with Israel … and Tel Aviv celebrates (video)
Trump is pressuring Sudan to normalize relations with Israel. Hamdok: It’s complicated
Sudan acknowledges discussing “Arab-Israeli peace” with the Americans in the Emirates.
Hebrew newspaper: Two Arab countries are candidates for normalization in one week, what are they?
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