Sudan Repeals Boycott of Israel

Sudan’s cabinet voted on Tuesday to repeal a 1958 law that forbade diplomatic and business relations with Israel, it said in a statement.

Sudan last year signed up to the Abraham Accords on regional reconciliation with Israel sponsored by the U.S. administration of then-president Donald Trump, and Israeli officials have visited Sudan.

The decision still needs the approval of a joint meeting of Sudan’s sovereign council and cabinet, which serves as Sudan’s interim legislative body.

Former US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari inked the deal, a largely symbolic document indicating Sudan’s intentions to move forward with normalization. The memorandum did not officially establish diplomatic ties between Khartoum and Yerushalayim, a move that is expected to happen in the near future, at an as yet undetermined date, The Times of Israel noted.

Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen welcomed Khartoum’s move.

“This is an important and necessary step toward the signing of a peace accord between the countries,” Cohen said in a statement, which did not expand on when such an event might take place