By Emily Jones JERUSALEM, Israel – Just days after the United Arab Emirates announced its historic treaty with Israel, Sudan also ...
By Emily Jones
JERUSALEM, Israel – Just days after the United Arab Emirates
announced its historic treaty with Israel, Sudan also expressed interest in
signing a peace deal with the Jewish State.
Sudan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Haidar Badawi Sadiq said
on Tuesday that his country is conducting peace talks with Israel and there is
“no need for the enmity to continue.”
"Israel and Sudan will gain from a peace
agreement," Sadiq told Sky News in Arabic. He said the new peace treaty
between the UAE and Israel has paved the way for more Arab countries to
establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
"We look at an agreement of this kind through the
interests of Sudan without sacrificing our values and principles,” said Sadiq.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been hinting
at relations with Sudan for months. In February, the premier made a historic
trip to Khartoum to discuss normalizing ties.
Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel will welcome a peace
treaty with Sudan.
"Israel, Sudan and the entire region will benefit from
the peace agreement and will be able – together – to build a better future for
all peoples of the region. We will do whatever is necessary to turn vision into
reality,” he said.
A Sudanese government
official told The Associated Press that Jerusalem and Khartoum have held
deliberations in recent months with the help of Egypt, the UAE, and the United
States.
“It’s a matter of time. We are finalizing everything. The
Emirati move encouraged us and helped calm some voices within the government
who were afraid of backlash from the Sudanese public,” he said, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Sudan, a Muslim-majority country, is historically Israel’s
enemy and went to war against the Jewish State during Israel’s 1948 War for
Independence. Sudan also joined Arab armies in fighting against Israel during
the Six-Day War in 1967.
Today, the fragile country is working towards establishing
democracy after a popular uprising led to the Sudanese military overthrowing
former president Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The country is now ruled by a
military-civilian government with elections possible in late 2022.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabi Ashkenazi said
Sudan’s announcement “highlights the fundamental change that is taking place in
the Middle East in general, and in Sudan in particular.”
“In the near future, we will continue discussing improving
relations until we are in a position to sign a peace agreement that respects
the interests of both countries,” said Ashkenazi.
Palestinian leaders condemned Sudan for seeking peace with
Israel.
“Where are the living revolutionary people of Sudan?” asked
senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also urged
Arab countries not to normalize ties with Israel.
“We consider this a stab in the back and we absolutely
reject it,” Abbas said during a meeting with Palestinian leaders Tuesday
evening.
Meanwhile, many are speculating that Bahrain and Oman will
also follow the UAE’s lead and make peace with Israel. On Monday, Oman and
Israel said their foreign ministers had spoken and agreed to “maintain direct
and continual contact.”
Israel also hopes Saudi Arabia, a sworn enemy of Iran, will
agree to relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment on the new UAE
peace treaty with Israel, but President Trump’s Senior Advisor, Jared Kushner,
said he believes the kingdom will normalize ties with the Jewish State.
“I do think it is an inevitability that Saudi Arabia and
Israel will have fully normalized relations and they will be able to do a lot
of great things together,” Kushner told CNBC last week.
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