The Sudanese ruling sovereignty council and cabinet on Monday officially voted to repeal the so-called Israel boycott law as part of the normalization process between Khartoum and Jerusalem.
The decision to scrap the 1958 law was confirmed earlier this month by the office of the Sudanese prime minister, who said the ministers also reaffirmed Sudan’s support for the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.
The move to finally erase the law from the books was confirmed by Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari after a joint sitting between the ruling sovereignty council and the cabinet on Monday.
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The legislation prohibited the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel and any business ties with the Jewish state. Fines for those who violated its provisions, such as trafficking in Israelites, included up to ten years in prison and a hefty fine.
This combination of photos created on October 24, 2020 shows (L to R): President of the Sudanese Transitional Council General, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum on October 30, 2019; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Chamber of the White House in Washington, DC on January 28, 2020; and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok in the capital Khartoum on 26 July 2020. (ASHRAF SHAZLY and Sarah Silbiger / various sources / AFP)
In January, Sudan signed the Abrahamic Agreement with the United States, paving the way for the country in Africa to normalize ties with Israel.
The signing took place just over two months after then-US President Donald Trump announced that Sudan would begin normalizing ties with Israel.
Before Sudan, the Trump administration late last year drew diplomatic suspects between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain. Morocco is also re-establishing diplomatic relations with Israel after cutting ties in 2000 in solidarity with Palestinians during the Second Intifada.
The agreements also contributed to the isolation and weakening of the Palestinian position, in that it weakened a long-standing Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should only be given in exchange for concessions in the peace process.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the army to overthrow longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. The province is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government that wants to maintain better ties with Washington and the West.
The then US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L) and the Sudanese Minister of Justice, Nasredeen Abdulbari, signed the Abraham Accords in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on January 6, 2021. (Screenshot: Facebook)
In December, the Trump administration finalized the removal of Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors for terrorism. The move was a major impetus for the Khartoum government to normalize relations with Israel.
The Sudanese economy has suffered from decades of US sanctions and mismanagement under al-Bashir, who has ruled the country since a 1989 military coup backed by Islamic support.
The name dates back to the 1990s, when Sudan briefly offered Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, and other wanted terrorists. Sudan would also have served as a pipeline for Iran to supply weapons to Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
