Israeli delegation arrives in Sudan for talks

Report: Military delegation landed in Khartoum to meet with de facto ruler Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

By JNS.org

A business jet carrying an Israeli military delegation touched down in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Wednesday, Israel’s Kan News reported.

The jet took off from Ben-Gurion International Airport before making a diplomatic stop at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to receive a flight path to the African state, according to the report.

The Saudi Al-Arabiya television channel said the delegation held a meeting with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Sudanese Army general who is also the de facto head of state at this time, as well as with military senior officers in Sudan.

The last report of an Israeli visit to Sudan surfaced in November, days after the military launched a coup against the civilian government on Oct. 25 that was in power.

Although Sudan and Israel were former enemy states, they agreed to normalize relations in October 2020, with Sudan later quietly signing on to the deal in January 2021. However, relations between the two countries have been hampered by political instability in Sudan.

Separately, two senior U.S. diplomats were in Sudan on Wednesday to help the country find a way out of its crisis, reported The Associated Press.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and the newly appointed U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, first met with pro-democracy activists from the Sudanese Professionals Association, according to the U.S. embassy in Khartoum.

Israel has largely stayed quiet about the October military takeover and its aftermath, which suggests that it is seeking to maintain normalized ties with Sudan, which has long been a fierce critic of the Jewish state.