Sudan puts Israel ties on hold until US grants immunity
If Congress does not pass the bill before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, it would likely become a much lower-priority item and take months to get back on the agenda.
By LAHAV HARKOVSudanese protesters shout slogans and wave flags during a rally honouring fallen protesters at the Green Square in Khartoum, Sudan July 18, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/ MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH)Sudan will not proceed with normalizing relations with Israel until the US Congress passes legislation giving Khartoum immunity from future lawsuits from terrorist victims, Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reportedly told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.Burhan set a deadline of the end of this year for Congress to pass the “legal peace” bill, in a conversation first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by diplomatic sources.Pompeo responded that the immunity would be finalized in the coming weeks.If Congress does not pass the bill before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, it would likely become a much lower-priority item and take months to get back on the agenda.In late October, Sudan pledged to become the third Arab state, after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to join the Abraham Accords and establish diplomatic relations with Israel.That commitment was deeply controversial in Sudan, and came amid heavy pressure from the US, during negotiations for Sudan to be removed from the US’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list and receive economic aid.Sudan’s current, transitional government came after longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was toppled last year, and it seeks to shift the country toward democracy.The final agreement between Sudan and the US required the former to pay $335 million in compensation to victims of the 1998 terrorist attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in which 224 people were killed and thousands injured. Al-Qaeda carried out the attacks, and Sudan harbored the terrorist group’s leader, Osama bin Laden, from 1991-1996.The bill the Trump administration seeks to have Congress approve would shield Sudan from further lawsuits from US victims of terrorism.Senators Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Chuck Schumer (D-New York) have sought an exception to be carved out in the bill for victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
In addition, Menendez has spoken out against a disparity in the compensation received by those who were US citizens during the embassy attacks and those who have since become naturalized citizens.At the same time, Menendez has said he recognizes that Sudan has an opportunity to establish a democratic government, and that it is in the American interest to encourage that transition. As such, he would support granting Sudan immunity, once his concerns are addressed.Sudan, however, would be unlikely to accept an agreement that would require them to pay more to compensate victims of terrorism.Khartoum regards the immunity bill as an important step in pulling itself out of a years-long economic crisis, without which investors may be reluctant to put money into Sudan’s shaky economy.
