Deputy head of Sudan's Transitional Military Council Gen. Mohammed Hamadan Dagalo, has regularly voiced his support for normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel, but in an interview with local reporters on Friday, he outdid even himself, leaving the country's political echelon with absolutely no doubt about the military's views on the matter.
"It is in Sudan's interest to establish relations with Israel," said Dagalo, who commands Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. "Our removal from the list of country's that support terror hinges on it." Dagalo even intimated openly that Khartoum doesn't particularly care about the Palestinian issue and jabbed Arab countries that have criticized normalization with Israel.
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"We don't have a border with the Palestinians," Dagalo noted, adding that "even neighboring countries have already established ties with Israel." He also took aim at detractors from home, saying that from a military perspective, relations with Israel are a Sudanese interest.
His comments were yet another step in the ongoing process of rapprochement with Israel following the downfall of former dictator Omar al-Bashir. It began February 3 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Uganda with Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the head of Sudan's sovereign council. In August, Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Haidar Badawi said his country "looks forward to a peace agreement with Israel" – although he was promptly dismissed for those remarks.
Dagalo, however, who is strongly allied with Burhan, has not feared repercussions for his repeated support for normalization with Israel. Normalization with a key African country such as Sudan is important in the long-term for Israel for several reasons: Sudan's strategic location; its potential for development once it is removed from the list of country's that support terror; and just as importantly – the effect it would have on the Arab League and other strategic Muslim countries in Africa.
On Saturday, meanwhile, Burhan and Dagalo's government officially signed a peace deal that aims to put an end to the country's decades-long civil wars, in a televised ceremony marking the agreement.
Reaching a negotiated settlement with rebels in Sudan's far-flung provinces has been a crucial goal for the sovereign council, which assumed power after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow al-Bashir in April 2019.
Sudanese civilian leaders hope the deal will allow them to revive the country's battered economy by slashing military spending, which takes up much of the national budget.
Also attending the ceremony were several foreign officials including the US Special Envoy for Sudan Donald Booth, African Union chairman Moussa Faki, and Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, along with other African and Arab officials.
The deal would grant self-rule for the southern provinces of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and West Kordofan, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press. Rebel forces would be integrated into Sudan's armed forces.
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