Ian Black

On 1^st September 1967, less than three months after Israel’s stunning victory in June of that momentous year, Arab leaders, including Gamal Abdel-Nasser, gathered for a summit in Khartoum. The decisions made there became known as the “three noes”: no peace, no negotiations, no recognition of the Jewish state.

Fast forward 53 years, and Sudan has now become the third Arab state to announce an end to its “state of belligerence” with Israel. It follows the recent decision of the UAE and Bahrain to sign the Abraham Accords and normalise their relations. Before that it was 26 years since Jordan did the same in 1994. The first to break the long-standing taboo was Egypt in 1979.

Sudan is in a different category from the two Gulf states – especially the wealthy and regionally assertive UAE. It is the one of the poorest countries in the Arab world and facing a severe economic crisis. It was motivated by the promise of being eligible for international loans and debt relief by its removal from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism dating back to the presence of Osama bin Laden in the mid-1990s.

The statement about future relations with Israel includes the promise of agricultural and health cooperation, in which Israel is considered a world leader.

President Donald Trump clearly had his own motives – making the attention-grabbing announcement last Friday, 11 days before the US election - which the latest polls predict he will lose to Joe Biden. Trump’s many critics dismissed it as a “campaign stunt” and “extortion”. The Israeli prime minister is also facing widespread protests because of his bungled handling of the covid pandemic as well as long-standing corruption allegations.

But whatever the motives of the principal players, what matters is the rapidly evolving big picture of what used to be called the Arab-Israeli conflict but which, in the view of both Palestinians and Israeli commentators, no longer even exists.

Clandestine or even discreet relations between Israel and Arab states, especially in the Gulf, have become widely known in the past 15 years. In the case of Sudan they date back even further. Jaafar al-Numeiri supported Anwar Sadat’s peace initiative in 1977 and played an important role in facilitating the arrival of Ethiopian Jews in Israel in the mid-1980s.

Netanyahu has long boasted about these increasing “below the surface” links. In October 2018 he visited Muscat to see Sultan Qaboos and was accompanied by the head of the Mossad secret service – presumably intended as a message to Iran about secret regional connections. The same is true of Morocco, in that case dating back as far as the 1950’s.

The deal with Sudan, agreed by the fragile transitional government in Khartoum, has potentially serious domestic implications. Following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 after three decades in power, an agreement was reached between the military junta that deposed him and the civil movement that led mass protests. The change towards Israel was reflected in a meeting held by the head of the Provisional Sovereignty Council, General Abdel-Fatah Burhan, with Netanyahu in Uganda in February this year.

But it already shows signs of being a controversial move whose final outcome cannot be taken for granted. Under the military is a civilian government headed by Abdallah Hamdok. According to the current Sudanese constitution, this structure is to remain in place until November 2022, when elections are scheduled. Meanwhile there is no functioning parliament, as it was disbanded when al-Bashir was toppled.

Sadiq al-Mahdi, the leader of the Islamist National Umma Party which is part of the ruling coalition, has warned that he would leave the government if the “treacherous” agreement with Israel were signed before then. According to the Arab Opinion Index, which is the biggest opinion survey in the region, 79% of Sudanese opposed relations with Israel.

“A unified Sudanese government with a popular mandate will be better able to forge a warm and sustainable peace with Israel, whereas a rushed Israeli-Sudanese agreement has the potential to unravel Sudan’s transition and generate renewed support for Sudan’s Islamists and their foreign backers,” according to two experts with the United States Institute of Peace.

Netanyahu said triumphantly that Khartoum was now saying the opposite of the infamous “three noes” of 1967. “Yes to peace with Israel, yes to the recognition of Israel and yes to normalisation with Israel. This is a new era.”

But will the deal with Sudan make any difference to relations between Israelis and Palestinians? Conspicuously absent from any discussions with Khartoum is the question of the future of the occupied West Bank and the creeping annexation embodied by illegal settlements.

Palestinians condemned the deal yet again as a “stab-in-the back”, as they did when the Abraham Accords were signed in the White House in September. It is an entirely understandable comment given that the drama of Israeli agreements with Arab states, whatever their motives, contribute nothing obvious towards resolving what is often described as the Middle East’s – and arguably the world’s - most intractable conflict.

IAN BLACK

Gulf Reconciliation: The Ball is in Qatar’s Court Natanz as “maximum pressure”?

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.