Israel–Sudan normalization agreement

Overview

The Israel–Sudan normalization agreement refers to the diplomatic opening announced by Israel and Sudan on October 23, 2020. In a four-way call, U.S. President Donald Trump, Sudanese Sovereignty Council chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed that Israel and Sudan would end their state of belligerence and begin normalizing relations. The announcement established mutual recognition and called for economic and trade relations, initially centered on agriculture. It was a historic commitment, but its initial instrument was an unsigned, nonbinding joint statement, not a completed bilateral peace treaty.^[1][9]

Sudan signed an Abraham Accords declaration in Khartoum on January 6, 2021. That step placed Sudan within the regional normalization process that followed the Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement. Earlier Arab–Israeli diplomacy included the Egypt–Israel peace treaty. Sudan’s declaration did not itself complete the separate, comprehensive treaty envisioned by Israeli and Sudanese officials. Negotiations, an exchange of ambassadors and broader cooperation remained dependent on Sudan’s political transition.^[5][10][13]

Background

Sudan’s relations with Israel had long been marked by war and official rejection. Sudanese military units fought alongside Egypt in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. After Sudan gained independence in 1956, its small Jewish community dissolved; about 500 Jews made aliyah to Israel. Khartoum hosted the 1967 Arab League summit that adopted the three noes: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations with Israel. Israel supplied equipment and training to southern Sudanese insurgents beginning in 1968. Sudan sent an expeditionary force toward the Suez front during the 1973 war, although it arrived after the ceasefire. Sudan was also one of two Arab states to support Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel.^[11][14]

Other contacts crossed that hostile divide. Under Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the Mossad used a Red Sea diving resort as cover for Operation Brothers, which rescued Ethiopian Jews from Sudan. Between 2009 and 2012, Israel struck Sudanese munitions facilities to disrupt weapons shipments by the Iranian regime through Sudan to the terrorist organizations Hezbollah and Hamas. Omar al-Bashir’s government later sought contact with Israel after breaking with the Iranian regime, distancing itself from Turkey and joining the Saudi war effort in Yemen.^[14]

Civilian protests ended al-Bashir’s 30-year rule in April 2019. Sudan’s transitional authorities faced a severe economic crisis and sought investment, sanctions relief and help with approximately $60 billion in debt. Netanyahu and al-Burhan held their first public meeting in Uganda in February 2020. Sudan’s foreign ministry exposed divisions over the emerging relationship that August: spokesperson Haidar Badawi confirmed talks with Israel, the foreign minister disavowed discussion of relations, and the ministry dismissed Badawi. Military leaders favored moving ahead, while Hamdok and other civilian figures questioned whether a transitional government could decide normalization before formation of a legislative body. Public opposition also complicated the process.^{[1][2][4][11]}

Terms

The October 23, 2020 joint statement committed Israel and Sudan to end belligerence and start economic and trade relations. Leaders planned negotiations on agricultural technology, aviation and migration cooperation. The statement focused mainly on economic ties and carried no signatures or binding bilateral peace terms. A proposed comprehensive agreement went further: it envisaged ambassadors and protocols covering agriculture, health and trade. Its completion was tied to an interim civilian government, elections and parliamentary ratification in Sudan.^[5][7][9]

The United States played a central role in the package surrounding the announcement. Sudan had held a U.S. state sponsor of terrorism designation since 1993. On October 23, 2020, Trump signed an order to remove Sudan from the list, days before the countries’ proposed relationship could develop into practical cooperation. Sudan deposited $335 million in escrow to compensate victims of the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole. U.S. commitments accompanying normalization included steps toward restoring Sudan’s sovereign immunity and working with international partners to reduce its debt burden. Relief from sanctions and debt was especially consequential for Sudan’s transitional government as it sought aid and investment.^{[1][4][9][12]}

Regional governments helped encourage negotiations. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia offered financial support, while Egypt gave tacit backing. Within Sudan, the Revolutionary Front, Democratic Unionist Party, Sudanese Congress Party and Sudanese Professionals Association supported normalization. Hamdok called for public dialogue before a final decision. Rapid Support Forces leader Hemedti, by contrast, openly supported relations with Israel. Those differences showed why the October announcement could establish a diplomatic direction without settling how Sudan would authorize and carry out a binding treaty.^[2][4][5]

Implementation

Sudan’s January 6, 2021 Abraham Accords declaration made its participation in the initiative formal, but bilateral implementation proceeded slowly. During normalization’s first year, practical steps amounted to repeal of Sudan’s boycott law, security delegations and one meeting between ministers. Sudan’s cabinet voted in April 2021 to repeal the 1958 law banning diplomatic and business relations with Israel. The repeal removed a legal obstacle; it did not by itself establish embassies or complete the proposed peace agreement.^[10][13]

Sudan’s 2021 military coup disrupted the transitional process and delayed a planned formal peace-agreement signing in Washington. The United States froze a $750 million economic aid package after the coup. Israeli contacts had largely run through al-Burhan and Sudan’s military leadership, while the civilian side had pressed for a broader political mandate. The loss of a functioning transition further slowed decisions on ambassadors and cooperation protocols.^[10]

Diplomatic efforts continued. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met al-Burhan in Khartoum in February 2023 to advance relations. Their discussions covered agriculture, energy, health, water, education and security. Cohen described a path toward a comprehensive agreement after Sudan transferred power to a civilian government. Fighting between al-Burhan’s forces and Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, turning the political crisis into civil war and obstructing the planned treaty. Both generals publicly supported normalization while fighting each other. Hemedti’s support therefore did not secure lasting implementation, and full diplomatic relations remained unfinished.^[5][6][7]

Significance

Sudan’s opening to Israel broke with the rejection proclaimed in Khartoum in 1967 and widened the Abraham Accords beyond the states that established official relations in 2020. It also linked a regional diplomatic initiative to Sudan’s effort to recover from dictatorship, obtain economic relief and rebuild international ties. The change was substantial even though the October 2020 statement was unsigned: Israel and Sudan publicly ended their declared belligerence, and Sudan later signed the Abraham Accords declaration and repealed its ban on relations.^{[1][9][11][13]}

The gap between declaration and implementation remained central to the agreement’s history. Sudan’s divided transitional leadership delayed a final political mandate; the 2021 coup postponed treaty signing; and the civil war that began in 2023 interrupted the route to a civilian government, parliamentary ratification and an exchange of ambassadors. The result was a historic normalization commitment whose intended comprehensive peace treaty and full diplomatic relationship had yet to be completed.^[5][6][10]