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Al-Araby Al-Jadid, London, October 25
While the issue of normalization between Israel and Sudan has been on the agenda for the past few years, progress in establishing ties between the two countries was only achieved this year, after the United Arab Emirates sponsored a meeting that brought together Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, president of the Transitional Military Council of Sudan, and Binyamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, in the Ugandan city of Entebbe. Although the Sudanese public, immersed in its own internal troubles, did not react, either positively or negatively, to this meeting, the Sudanese ruling authority tried to undermine its effect by delegating the decision on any future moves with Israel to the executive branch. However, successive events took place behind the scenes, including the arrival of several Israeli planes in Sudan, allowing Burhan and Netanyahu to maintain a direct line of communication. Since Burhan assumed the presidency of the Military Council on April 13, it has become clear that there is a close relationship between various council members, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. However, several notable events, including the continued Sudanese involvement in the Yemen Civil War, raised questions about how this relationship would develop. It was clear that the UAE wanted to ensure that Sudan’s military apparatus maintained a position of power in any future political settlement in Sudan. This push to place the military at the forefront of Sudan’s politics paved the way for the normalization of ties with Israel. Israeli efforts to normalize relations with Sudan are certainly not new. They emerged in the 1950s, when direct contacts were established between Tel Aviv and the nationalist Umma party, affiliated with the Ansar sect. Then, attempts were repeated during the government of former Sudanese President Jaafar Nimeiry between 1969 and 1985, when Nimeiry met with then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, at a farm in Kenya in 1982, to coordinate the transfer of Falasha Jews from Ethiopia to Israel. The era of ousted President Omar al-Bashir (from 1989 to 2019) also featured several Israeli attempts to normalize ties directly with the Foreign Relations Committee of the Sudanese National Dialogue. After the outbreak of the revolution that overthrew Omar al-Bashir, the country suddenly moved away from its historic alliance, of which Khartoum was one of its most prominent links. Ultimately, Sudan’s desire to be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and the hope of mending its thorny relations with the United States provided the right conditions for talks with Israel. However, many in Sudan believe that any attempt by the Emiratis to push for comprehensive normalization is unlikely to succeed for many reasons, including Abu Dhabi’s inability to strengthen pro-Gulf Sudanese political figures such as the Council’s vice president. of Sovereignty, Mohamed Hamdan. Dagalo. The ongoing political crisis in the country also presents an obstacle to the issue of normalization with Israel, as this matter deepens Sudan’s internal disagreements. Some voices within Sudan have already described this move as “political bribery”, claiming that Israeli or American benefits will not change the country’s stance on Israel and its occupation of Palestinian land. – Staff of Al-Araby Al-Jadid (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
