President Trump signed a bill on Monday that will give Sudan immunity from the future trials of the victims of the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in East Africa and will provide Sudan with nearly $ 1 billion in financial aid and US loans. But the bill will not give Sudan immunity from the trials of the families of the 9/11 victims.
Why does it matter: The legal issue was a critical part of the agreement between the Trump administration and Sudan, which included removing the country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and normalizing Sudanese relations with Israel.
- The signing of the bill will allow this process to continue.
The whole picture: In recent weeks, intense diplomatic and political negotiations have taken place in Washington, DC, on the bill.
- The Sudanese government has demanded full legal immunity, but a group of Senate minority leaders Chuck Schumer (NY) and Senator Robert Menendez (NJ) have refused to grant Sudan immunity over future 9/11 trials.
- Sudanese officials have threatened that the normalization process with Israel could be jeopardized if the bill is not approved and they do not receive immunity.
- Israel has put pressure on Democratic and Republican senators to give Sudan immunity from future trials. But the differences remained until the last days.
Between the lines: An American official told me that in recent days the White House has managed to reach a compromise: Sudan will receive legal immunity from all future trials, except for the 9/11 victims.
- Sudan will be compensated for this by obtaining 700 million dollars in direct financial aid from the USA and over 200 million dollars in loans.
- Victims of the 1998 terrorist attack on embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, which killed more than 200 people, will receive $ 150 million in compensation from the US government and another $ 335 million in Sudan in exchange for giving up all trials.
For registration: U.S. officials said the Sudanese government, Democratic senators and the families of the victims of the 1998 and September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks agreed to the compromise.
- The agreement was introduced in the Omnibus bill that was passed in Congress and signed on Monday by Trump.
What’s next: The immunity agreement will now allow the Sudanese government access to foreign aid and investment without fear of sanctions and lawsuits.
- It will also allow the country to continue the normalization process with Israel.
Flashback: Secret Israeli-Sudan contacts have allowed an agreement reached by Trump