SUDAN ABOLISHES ISRAEL BOYCOTT LAW

Tue 06 April 2021:

Sudan’s cabinet approved Tuesday a bill to abolish a 1958 law boycotting Israel, after Khartoum and the Jewish state struck a deal to normalise ties.

“The Council of Ministers has approved a bill (repealing the 1958 boycott of Israel law) for the year 2021,” the cabinet said in a statement.

The former 1958 law was in line with the policies of Arab nations at the time towards Israel.

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.

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

The 1958 law was in line with the policies of Arab nations at the time towards Israel.

Penalties for those who violated its stipulations, such as trading with Israelis, included up to 10 years in jail and a hefty fine.

But the political landscape has changed as Sudan, along with Gulf countries and Morocco, have built bridges with the Jewish state in deals mediated by Trump.

Sudan agreed to normalise ties with Israel in October last year, in a quid pro quo for Washington removing the country from its “state sponsors of terrorism” blacklist months later.

The bill will be presented for final approval from the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, made up of military and civilian figures, before it is passed into law.