Sudan cabinet votes to repeal Israel boycott law
Sudan’s cabinet voted on Tuesday to repeal a 1958 law that forbade diplomatic and business relations with Israel.
The decision still needs the approval of a joint meeting of Sudan's Sovereign Council and cabinet, which together act as Sudan's interim legislative body.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Sudan became the fifth country in the Arab world to formalise relations with Israel in October, after Washington decided to remove Khartoum from the State Department's State Sponsors of Terrorism List (SST).
Under the aegis of former US President Donald Trump, four Arab countries - the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco - established official diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, in a break from the decades-old regional consensus conditioning normalisation on a resolution to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
Following Sudan’s recognition of Israel, the US formally removed Khartoum from the SST list after 27 years.
These incentives were seen as a major boost for Sudan's struggling economy after years of sanctions, and a pivotal step in its efforts to reintegrate into the international community.
After the toppling of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir following a popular uprising in 2019, the Sudanese army and opposition groups came to a power-sharing agreement to form a transitional council with both civilian and military leaders.
The normalisation agreement further strained relations between the military and civilian branches of Sudan's transitional government - as the move was widely seen as being at the initiative of the army.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
