Israel-Sudan Peace Deal: Sudan to normalise ties with Israel in US-brokered deal after UAE, Bahrain

Israel and Sudan have agreed to normalise ties in a deal brokered with the help of US President Donald Trump. This makes Sudan the third Arab nation to recognise Israel in the last two months after Bahrain and the UAE. 

Sudan agreed to recognise Israel and normalise its relations with the nation on October 23, 2020 after the US President brokered a peace deal through a phone call between Sudanese Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

The historic peace deal has come just a few days ahead of the US Presidential Elections, which is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2020. The incumbent US President Donald Trump is seeking re-election this time and his main opponent is former US Vice President Joe Biden, who is representing the Democratic Party. 

HUGE win today for the United States and for peace in the world. Sudan has agreed to a peace and normalization agreement with Israel! With the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, that’s THREE Arab countries to have done so in only a matter of weeks. More will follow! pic.twitter.com/UHB8H6oaZc

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2020

Israel-Sudan Peace Deal: All you need to know!

•  As per a joint statement issued by Israel, Sudan and the United States, the leaders of Israel and Sudan have agreed to normalise relations and end hostilities between the two nations. 

•  Both Israel and Sudan plan to begin normalisation of ties by opening up economic and trade relations with an initial focus on agriculture. The issues concerning formal establishment of diplomatic ties would be resolved later.

•  An Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Sudan in the coming days to complete the peace agreement, announced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on October 24, 2020. It is, however, unclear as to how long it will take for a peace accord to be completed.

•  The Sudanese premier will reportedly wait for a formal approval from the yet-to-be formed Sudanese parliament before proceeding with formal normalisation of ties. Hence, it is expected to take time as it is unclear when the new assembly will be formed given the sensitivities and civilian-military differences.

US removes Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism 

The Israel-Sudan normalisation of ties follows US President Donald Trump’s decision to remove Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism earlier last week. Trump had announced on October 19, 2020 that he would take Sudan off the terrorism list once it had deposited USD335 million it had pledged to pay in compensation.

The designation was imposed on Sudan in 1993 because of its now toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir, who was suspected of supporting militant groups.  Sudan has reportedly deposited the compensation amount in a special escrow account, which will reportedly be used for victims of 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, who had ordered the attacks, was reportedly living in Sudan at that time. 

More Arab nations to normalise ties with Israel?

After UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, US President Donald Trump has claimed that at least five other Arab nations want to enter into a peace deal with Israel. All the peace deals collectively have been given the name- Abraham Accords.

Background

Though Sudan played a small part in Arab-Israeli wars, it is a part of the Arab League, which strictly ruled out any peace or negotiations with Israel. The Arab League refuses to recognise Israel until there is a solid resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, two Arab nations - UAE and Bahrain- agreed to recognise and normalise their relations with Israel in a US-brokered peace deal in the last months. The UAE had, in fact, become the first Arab nation to recognise Israel in almost 20 years. Egypt had been the first-ever Arab nation to recognise Israel in the 1970s, followed by Jordan in the 1990s. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the recognitions, calling them a betrayal to the Palestinian cause.