Sudan’s governing council and cabinet on Monday formally voted to repeal Israel’s so-called boycott law as part of the normalization process between Khartoum and Jerusalem.
The decision to drop the 1958 law was confirmed earlier this month by the Sudanese prime minister’s office, which said ministers also said they supported Sudan’s support for a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.
The move to finally remove the law from the books was confirmed by Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari following a joint session between the governing sovereignty council and the cabinet on Monday.
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The law had forbidden the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel and prohibited any trade ties with the Jewish state. Sanctions for those who violated his provisions, such as trading with Israelis, included up to 10 years in prison and a hefty fine.
This combination of images created on 24 October 2020 shows (from L to R): the President of the Sudanese Transitional Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, on 30 October 2019; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Eastern House 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 Abraham’s agreements with the United States, paving the way for the African country to normalize ties with Israel.
The signing came just over two months after then-US President Donald Trump announced that Sudan would begin normalizing ties with Israel.
Prior to Sudan, the Trump administration drafted diplomatic pacts late last year between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain. Morocco also re-established diplomatic relations with Israel after severing ties in 2000 in solidarity with the Palestinians during the Second Intifada.
The agreements also contributed to the isolation and weakening of the Palestinian position, by eroding a long-standing Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should be granted only 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 dictator Omar al-Bashir for a long time in April 2019. The county is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government seeking better ties. with Washington and the West.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L) and Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari sign the Abraham Accords in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on January 6, 2021. (Screenshot: Facebook)
In December, the Trump administration completed the removal of Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move was a key incentive for the Khartoum government to normalize relations with Israel.
Sudan’s economy has suffered decades of US sanctions and mismanagement under al-Bashir, which led the country to a 1989 Islamist-backed military coup.
The name dates back to the 1990s, when Sudan briefly hosted Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other wanted terrorists. Sudan is also believed to have served as a conduit for Iran to supply weapons to Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
