Alwaght- As Sudan’s home conflict is causing international community’s concerns and many countries are calling for end of clashes, few could imagine that one day the Israelis grow worried about crisis in a Muslim country. However, this is happening due to the interests of the Israelis. Having been advancing the normalization project these years, the Israeli regime supports countries that take steps to involve in the thaw process.
Sudan is one of these countries on which Tel Aviv is investing. Since the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made considerable progress in persuading the military leaders of Sudan to normalize, the recent clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) set off the alarm bells to Tel Aviv leaders who are afraid the conflict wreaks havoc on all of their past year arrangements for normalization.
Since Saturday, when the conflict between the Sudanese army led by Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF under the command of Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, began, the Israelis called for peace and stability, the first such Israeli call for a Muslim country. Israeli diplomats told the Al-Monitor news outlet that the current conflict in Sudan will delay the finalization of normalization between Tel Aviv and Khartoum. This is while Sudan’s leaders have said in recent months that normalization will take place after formation of a civilian transitional government.
Coup leaders, Israel’s infantry in Sudan
Since al-Burhan is the signatory of the normalization deal with the Israeli regime, Israeli officials in his support expressed their concern about the clashes between the army and the RSF, saying that they make efforts to calm the situation down. Israeli foreign ministry spokesman in a Twitter post said that Tel Aviv seeks stability and security in Sudan and follows the developments there closely. It called on all sides to avoid violence and by returning to the national reconciliation, realize the power transition with a big consensus.
Israeli closeness to Sudan took place several months before signing the Abraham Accords between Israeli regime and the UAE and then Bahrain. In February 2020, Netanyahu met al-Burhan and said that he was working with the military ruler to make way for diplomacy. In January 2021, Sudan’s administrative council released a statement that paved the way for normalization, and in April of the same year, it passed a bill that lifted a ban on Israeli regime in place since 1958.
Al-Burhan and Dagalo both were engaged in pro-normalization efforts, and senior Israeli security and intelligence officers have had contacts with both of them. Still, at times, politicians including the Prime Minister of the interim government Abdullah Hamduk, voiced their opposition to normalization out of their commitment to the Palestinian cause.
Ronen Levi, the director of Israeli foreign ministry, as the man in shadows, was one of the key figures in establishing contacts with Sudanese officials. He made a lot of efforts to lure the Sudanese leaders into thaw. It was due to his efforts that Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Khartoum in February and met with al-Burhan.
After meeting with al-Burhan, Cohen stated that the two sides had signed a normalization agreement that would be finalized after a civilian government starts work. The Israeli authorities have made great efforts to bring Sudan into normalization as soon as possible, but the conflict in Sudan in recent days, which has set dark prospects for the country, ravaged all of the Israeli efforts towards this goal.
Although it was predicted that the normalization between Khartoum and Tel Aviv would be finalized by the end of 2023, due to the internal developments in Sudan, Israeli diplomats believe that the final stages will be halted at least until the current conflict ends and normalcy is restored and this means that full normalization would take time.
The main reason the Israelis are supporting the coup leaders is that they try to conclude the normalization while they still hold the power, as Tel Aviv is certain that the project will be halted once a civilian government takes the power. People of Sudan have repeatedly voiced their opposition to relations with Tel Aviv in rallies. For the ruling generals, a progress in ties with the Israeli regime will persuade the foreign countries, on top of them the US and the UAE, to inject aids into the troubled economy of the African country.
Getting Sudan off the circle of supporters of Palestine
Netanyahu government is focusing on Sudan because of the interests a finalized normalization deal can bring about to the Israeli regime. Though Sudan does not have the influence or wealth of Persian Gulf monarchies, the deal with this African country, even while it is immersed into a deep political and economic crisis, will be very important for the Israeli regime.
Establishing diplomatic relations with Sudan which has been regarding Israeli regime an enemy since 1958, would mean subtraction of an enemy and addition of an ally which would help Tel Aviv break out of isolation and security encirclement. After the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, Sudan hosted an important conference of the Arab League, in which eight Arab countries adopted the “Three Noes” resolution: “No to peace with Israel, no to recognition of Israel, and no to negotiations with Israel.” Sudan was once one of the biggest critics of Israeli regime in the Arab world, and in 1993, the US designated it as a state sponsor of terrorism for its support to the Palestine people, but President Donald Trump removed Khartoum from the blacklist in 2020, a move aimed at dragging it into a deal to normalize relations with Tel Aviv.
Also, Sudan is said to be one of the routes used for arms delivery to Gaza, and if this country cozies up to Israeli government, one of the Gaza arms supply lines will be blocked, and this will make a big victory for Tel Aviv to end activities of Hamas to which Khartoum was a great station.
There is another reason for the Israelis to focus on Sudan. Khartoum severed its diplomatic relations with Iran since 2016, following a similar Saudi step. This gives Netanyahu, archenemy of Iran in the region, a reason to ally with the new Sudanese rulers to strengthen his anti-Iranian front in the Horn of Africa.
Geopolitical significance of Sudan for the Israelis
Another important point making Sudan attractive to the Israelis is the country’s geopolitical position in Africa. Since Sudan is on the Red Sea route, it can considerably help beef up security of navigation for the Israeli ships. The Israeli regime is threatened by Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement in the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and finds presence of Iran’s allies a major threat to its security of navigation, therefore, it needs such countries as Sudan to lift its military weight in the region.
Under agreements recently reached between Israeli and Sudanese officials, Tel Aviv is planned to invest in the sensitive agriculture sector of this African country and develop a positive image of itself in the eyes of the public as Sudan desperately needs to increase its food production. Agriculture in Sudan had been abandoned in recent years and people have turned to oil and underground resources. Abandoning fertile lands has been a source of famine in the country. Thus, taking control of the agricultural and economic sectors of Sudan provides extensive economic benefits to the Israelis who are suffering from inadequate farming lands.
Also, the Israeli regime has been struggling for years for observer status of the African Union (AU), but has so far failed due to opposition of some countries like Algeria. Tel Aviv intends to boost its weight against the opponents of its bid and join the bloc. Normalizing with Sudan and Morocco and resuming diplomatic relations with Chad and Guinea are aimed at accession to the AU.
As the Israelis went frustrated about Persian Gulf Arab monarchies joining the normalization deal following the last month Iranian-Saudi détente agreement, they began to count on Sudan to make the least benefits in these chaotic conditions. But to their frustration, Sudan slipped into a civil war that force-stopped Netanyahu’s project at the same station the normalization will the UAE and Bahrain stopped.
