What did the Israeli foreign minister carry in his bag to Khartoum?

KHARTOUM - Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen surprised the Sudanese yesterday, Thursday, when his plane landed in Khartoum

for an unannounced visit, amid a division in the political scene regarding resolving the political crisis in the country and a rivalry that has emerged to the surface between the President of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and his deputy, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, “Hemedti.” After it was muffled, and complex security conditions in the triangle of the Sudanese-Chadian-Afro-Mediterranean borders.

Cohen has been considered the architect of relations between Israel and Sudan since he was Minister of Intelligence. He arrived in Khartoum on a similar visit in January 2021, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Sudanese Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim, which included areas of cooperation in various fields.

The Israeli minister was accompanied on his new visit by a delegation that included Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ronan Levy, Deputy Africa Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sharon Barley, the representative of the Israeli National Aid Agency, Einat Shalin, and the legal advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tal Baker, in addition to senior officers in the Mossad and military intelligence.

According to information obtained by Al-Jazeera Net, the Israeli guest held two talks at the army headquarters with the head of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, in the presence of Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq, and it was agreed to continue the steps of normalization between the two sides, and Sudan's signing of the Abraham Accords after the formation of the civilian government. Which will take power through the current political process.

It was also agreed - according to the information - to convert the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides two years ago into an implementable agreement in the areas of cooperation in energy, agriculture, water, health and education, "so that the Sudanese people feel that there are real interests that can be achieved through normalization between the two parties."

According to the same sources, Cohen expressed his concern about the stalemate in the relations of the two countries during the previous two years after his recent visit and Sudan’s signing of the Abraham Accords with the United States in January 2021, and the two parties acknowledged that the internal conditions in the two countries contributed to this, and normalization should be accelerated through concrete steps. .

In the second session, Minister of Defense Yassin Ibrahim, Director General of the Intelligence Service, Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal, and Director of Military Intelligence, Ahmed Ali Sabeer, joined the talks from the Sudanese side. The discussion focused on expanding security and military cooperation, to confront the challenges of the two parties, and how to deal with the tension on the borders between Sudan, Chad, and Central Africa. And monitoring the situation in the African coast and the Red Sea.

proof agenda

It seems that Al-Burhan's approach regarding the tendency to use Israel as a bridge to Washington - as observers say - has not changed. He surprised the Sudanese people and some of his ruling partners in February 2020 when he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, also arranged by Cohen, and considered it An attempt to normalize his country's relationship with the international community, remove it from international isolation, and remove Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, which happened later, as Washington mortgaged the move to normalization with Tel Aviv.

Cohen's visit yesterday, Thursday, to Khartoum, this time with American mediation, came after secret contacts with Al-Burhan during the past weeks, according to political sources close to the presidential palace, in order to ensure the continuation of the influence of the first man in the country and his playing a pivotal role in the political scene even if he left his position in the Sovereignty Council and returned to The army embraced, as stipulated in the framework agreement it signed with the Alliance of Forces for Freedom and Change - the Central Council last December.

The same sources who spoke to Al-Jazeera Net believe that Al-Burhan wants to bypass Western pressure on him, especially the European enthusiastic about the framework agreement, as Hemedti supports the agreement and has become close to the Alliance of Forces for Freedom and Change - the Central Council, and European envoys are expected to arrive in Khartoum next week to accelerate the final stage of the process. political.

On the other hand, Washington took another direction calling for expanding the framework agreement to include other powers so that it would be more comprehensive, and gave the green light to Egypt, which called on Sudanese political blocs opposed to the agreement to a dialogue workshop in Cairo that began yesterday, Thursday, and will last for 5 days, which leads to a division in the scene. The politician is in the interest of the military component and gives it the upper hand in re-engineering the political situation and continuing its role in the pyramid of power until there is a consensus between the fragmented political forces, according to observers.

bullying abroad

In the same context, political researcher Al-Hassan Abdel-Qader believes that the civil forces and the military component are using foreign powers to strengthen their negotiating positions.

Abdel Qader told Al-Jazeera Net that Al-Burhan seeks to draw close to Washington through Israel and presents himself as the strong figure in the army capable of preserving the security and stability of the country and controlling the rhythm of political life during the transitional period, in light of the fragmentation of political forces and their failure to agree, which gave Al-Burhan an opportunity to exploit its contradictions. and exhaustion.

He adds that the civil forces that were leading the revolution - the coalition of the forces of freedom and change - were divided among themselves and no longer had the reins of the street, and relied on an external lever that supported them until they signed the framework agreement and used them to implement their agenda and take care of their interests, by returning them to power after Al-Burhan removed them from them. More than a year ago, with a coup against its partnership with the military component.

The Sudanese and Israeli sides agreed to continue the normalization steps, and Sudan signed the Abraham Accords after the formation of the civil government (Anatolia)

Public relations visit

In another direction, the university professor and political analyst, Dr. Hajj Hamad, believes that Cohen's visit will not happen new in the political scene, and he considered it "public relations", and that there is international support for the political process through the framework agreement that Al-Burhan and Hamidati signed with the civil forces in the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.

Hamad believes in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net that Al-Burhan's tactics have become exposed in his dealings with the political crisis and his lack of conviction in leaving the scene and returning to the barracks, as he put it.