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US, UAE press ahead to broker Israel-Sudan rapprochement

Sudan might be ready to establish ties with Israel, but first it needs for the United States to remove it from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make a joint statement to the press after meeting in Jerusalem, on August 24, 2020. - Pompeo arrived in Israel kicking off a five-day visit to the Middle East which will take him to Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, focusing on Israel's normalising of ties with the UAE and pushing other Arab states to follow suit. (Photo by DEBBIE HILL / various sources / AFP) (Photo by DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Three Sudanese parties held a joint conference in Khartoum Sept. 30, calling on the regime to accept an American deal for normalizing ties with Israel. "The American proposal is limited to the upcoming US presidential elections [on Nov. 3], and we shouldn't miss this historic opportunity. After announcement of the results of the US presidential elections, we will enter into a major crisis in Sudan if we don’t agree to the offer made in the Emirates. Sudan will not be removed from the terrorism list for many years if we don’t take advantage of the existing opportunity,” said Mubarak al-Fadel, head of the Umma party.

For Jerusalem, the joint press conference reinforced impressions over Khartoum’s willingness to close a deal soon. A senior Israeli diplomat told Al-Monitor that the ball is now in Sudan’s court. Khartoum must now decide whether or not to accept the proposal made by American officials in Abu Dhabi some 10 days ago for a quadruple package deal.

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