Israel, Sudan to Sign Peace Deal in Washington Within 3 Months

On Wednesday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said that Israel and Sudan will finalize a diplomatic agreement to normalize ties between them at a ceremony in Washington within the next three months.

"The draft peace agreement is progressing and a signing ceremony between Israel and Sudan is expected in Washington within the next three months," Cohen added, according to Reuters.

Last Monday, Cohen headed a delegation to Sudan. It is considered the first public official visit of an Israeli minister to the Arab country after normalizing ties between both countries.

During his visit, he met the Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim, and other senior officials. They discussed various political, security and economic issues.

Earlier this month, Sudan signed the Abraham accords, hailing the prospect of more immediate economic and diplomatic ties with Israel as groundbreaking.

The U.S. formally removed Sudan’s state sponsor of terrorism designation on Dec 14, 2020, 27 years after including the country on its blacklist.

In October, Former US President Donald Trump announced that he would take Sudan off the list, which also includes North Korea, Iran, and Syria.

As part of a deal, Sudan agreed to pay $335 million to compensate survivors and victims’ families from the twin 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, carried out when al-Bashir was welcoming al-Qaeda, and a 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen’s coast.

Sudan’s transitional government, which took over last year following Bashir’s overthrow, has also agreed to recognize Israel.

Sudan became the third Arab state – after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – to move to normalize relations with Israel this year. After Sudan, Morocco also established diplomatic ties with Israel.