Israeli sources: Khartoum's 3 no's will turn into a blessing for peace

"Israel Today" newspaper reported that Sudan and Israel are about to conclude an agreement to normalize relations between them. The newspaper, loyal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, added that sources in the US administration speak with great optimism about this.

The newspaper said that sources in the Israeli leadership confirm the existence of a positive breakthrough in relations, and that high-ranking officials in the Israeli cabinet revealed to it the efforts being made to arrange a regional peace conference between Israel and many Arab and Islamic countries.

These sources told the newspaper that Khartoum's 3 no's will turn into a blessing for peace with Israel, in reference to the decisions of the Arab summit that was held in Khartoum after the Arab defeat by Israel in 1967, which led to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Palestinians, the Syrian Golan, and the Egyptian Sinai. At the time, the Arab summit adopted "firm" decisions, such as the declaration of the 3 No's: "There is no reconciliation, no negotiation, and no recognition of Israel."

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Khartoum yesterday, on a direct and historic trip from occupied Jerusalem at the end of his visit to Israel.

In his conversation with the transitional prime minister in Sudan, Abdullah Hamdok, Pompeo discussed the possibility of strengthening direct contact with Israel, indicating that this would be sufficient to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.

However, Hamdok said that his government "does not have a mandate" to take a decision on normalization with Israel, and that its mission is "limited" to complete the transition process leading to elections.

According to the newspaper, a senior US administration official expected his administration to announce within a few weeks a peace agreement between Israel and Sudan.

The Israeli sources also reported that an official delegation will leave Israel on a direct trip to the UAE next week.

Last February, the head of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, confirmed that he had met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda, believing that the meeting would contribute to Sudan's integration into the international community.