Top Sudanese official pays secret visit to Israel amid normalization bid – report

Sudan reportedly pushing to finalize normalization of relations with Israel and enter the Abraham Accords, with senior official making secret visit to Tel Aviv.

By World Israel News Staff

The government of Sudan is pushing to normalize relations with Israel and to finalize its inclusion in the Abraham Accords, according to reports by Sudanese media.

On Tuesday, the Alrakoba news outlet reported that a senior Sudanese official recently visited Israel to initiate talks with the Jewish state to complete the long-delayed process of establishing full diplomatic relations.

The official, who has been identified as Lt. Gen. Al-Sadiq Ismail, is an aide to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan who seized power in an October 2021 coup d’état.

Ismail is said to have met with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv last week, during which the two sides discussed the process for completing diplomatic normalization.

During the meeting, Ismail reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that al-Burhan is prepared to join the Abraham Accords and establish full relations with Israel in exchange for Israeli support for the majority-Muslim north African state.

Al-Burhan’s envoy is said to have agreed to accept the Israeli conditions for such an arrangement.

In 2020, then-Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s government agreed to join the Abraham Accords and to normalize ties with Israel, in exchange for the Trump administration dropping Sudan from a terror blacklist and providing loan guarantees to service Sudan’s debt.

In January 2021, Sudan signed a declaration formally announcing its intentions to enter into the Abraham Accords.

However, internal turmoil and the collapse of the Hamdok government months later led to the suspension of normalization efforts.

The bid to establish ties with Israel resumed in early 2023, but faced repeated delays due to internecine fighting in Sudan.

Sudan’s renewed interest in normalization with Israel reportedly stems in part from Khartoum’s hopes that formal ties with Jerusalem will improve Sudan’s standing with the new Trump administration and enable Sudan to improve its standing with another Abraham Accords member, the United Arab Emirates.

Ismail dismissed Israeli concerns of Sudan’s recent pro-Iran posture, explaining that Sudan signed a five-year cooperation agreement with Tehran in desperation for foreign support.