Sudan and Israel agreed on Friday to normalise relations, in a U.S.-brokered deal to end decades of hostility that was widely welcomed but stirred Palestinian anger.
The announcement makes Sudan, technically at war with Israel since its 1948 foundation, the third Arab country to forge diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in the last two months.
“HUGE win today for the United States and for peace in the world,” U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted.
Other U.S. allies, including Germany, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, welcomed the deal as a boost to stability in the West Asia.
Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders strongly condemned the deal, echoing their rejection of Israel’s normalisation accords with the UAE and Bahrain signed in Washington last month.
“The State of Palestine expressed today its condemnation and rejection of the deal to normalise ties with the Israeli occupation country which usurps Palestinian land,” president Mahmoud Abbas’s office said in a statement.
Iran, which has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, said Sudan had paid a “shameful” price to be removed from the “phony” blacklist.
“Pay enough ransom, close your eyes on the crimes against Palestinians, then you’ll be taken off the so-called ‘terrorism’ blacklist. Obviously the list is as phony as the U.S. fight against terrorism. Shameful!” its Foreign Ministry said.
