Israeli delegation reportedly made secret visit to Sudan after military coup

Israeli media reported that an Israeli delegation visited Sudan in recent days, meeting with military leaders involved in the recent coup, a move that may impact efforts to finalize an agreement to normalize ties.

The delegation, which likely included representatives from the Mossad spy agency, met with Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, a prominent general in the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary force that took part in the coup carried out last month, the Walla news site reported Monday.

Dagalo had been part of a Sudanese military delegation that visited ‘Israel’ several weeks earlier, meeting with members of the National Security Council and other officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, Walla claimed.

Israeli officials told Walla that while the sides discussed the political situation in Sudan and the stability of the civilian government during the Israeli visit, the Sudanse did not offer any indication that they would be carrying out a coup and deposing the civilian-led government later that month.

Sudanese military leaders have taken note of Israel’s silence on the coup and believe it constitutes approval of their actions, the report said, as it was the military, not the civilian leadership, in Sudan that played a more active role in advancing normalization with the occupation state last year.

Last Monday, the Sudanese military detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other top officials, dissolved the government, declared a nationwide state of emergency, and launched a deadly crackdown against peaceful protesters.

Briefing reporters on condition of anonymity last Friday, a senior US official said he didn’t think now was the time for Washington to move forward with efforts to pressure Sudan into finalizing its normalization deal with the occupation state.

“[The Abraham Accords are] good for the whole – good for Sudan, it’s good for the region,” the official said.

“But I just do not see us pushing a military government on this issue right now, given the fact that we do not see Sudan being stable as long as there’s a military domination,” the official added.

“The normalization effort between Israel and Sudan is something that will have to be evaluated as we and as Israel watch very closely what happens in the coming hours and coming days,” also said US State Department Spokesman Ned Price.

In October, 2020, Sudan agreed to normalize ties with ‘Israel’ making it the third country to do so, following the steps of the UAE and Bahrain and later Morocco, under the so-called Abraham Accords, a pact brokered by the United States.

The U.S. said that it would remove Sudan from the state sponsors of terrorism list as part of the agreement.

Palestinians condemned the normalization agreements, saying they encouraged Israel’s denial of their rights and do not serve the Palestinian cause.