Credit: Adriane Ohanesia/Reuters
Sudan on Monday abolished a decades-old law that implemented a boycott of Israel, ultimately severing diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries, CBN News reports.
The law was written in 1958, amid a time when many Muslim countries were in a much more heated war with Israel. The repeal of the boycott also allows Sudanese citizens to visit Israel, where about 6,000 Sudanese family members live.
According to CBN News, the repeal of the boycott is a significant move symbolizing the end of holdover policies from the Israeli-Arab War. Sources report that under the 1958 boycott law, violators could be punished to up to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine. The law mirrored pan-Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960 that largely supported the prohibition of dealings with Israel and Israelis.
“The council of ministers approved a bill repealing the 1958 boycott of Israel law,” Sudan’s government said in a statement obtained by Yahoo News.
However, the Sudanese government also reiterated their stance for a two-state solution, saying, “Sudan’s firm position on the establishment of a Palestinian state within the framework of a two-state solution.”
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has also expressed support for such a resolution. However, he has echoed statements from Palestinian officials that Palestine is unwilling to come to the negotiating table and instead wants to take over parts of Jerusalem, Israel’s capital.
In Sudan, Reuters reports that the Sudanese military has largely been behind the effort to normalize relations with Israel, and one of the top officials in the Sudanese Intelligence Community, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen, reportedly called the move “an important and necessary step toward the signing of a peace accord between the countries.” This indicates that ranking members of Sudan’s government are open to signing peace with Israel.
Sudan was the third country to sign an agreement to normalize relations with Israel as part of negotiations brokered by President Trump. According to a statement obtained by TRT World that was released by the three countries, “The leaders agreed to the normalization of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations.”
