Sudan’s Burhan: Abraham Accords Stemmed from our Belief in Tolerance, Coexistence

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, meets with Bahraini aid officials in Sudan's capital Khartoum, Sept. 15, 2020. (AFP)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, meets with Bahraini aid officials in Sudan's capital Khartoum, Sept. 15, 2020. (AFP)
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Sudan’s Burhan: Abraham Accords Stemmed from our Belief in Tolerance, Coexistence

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, meets with Bahraini aid officials in Sudan's capital Khartoum, Sept. 15, 2020. (AFP)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, meets with Bahraini aid officials in Sudan's capital Khartoum, Sept. 15, 2020. (AFP)

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, said his government signed the Abraham Accords with the United States and Israel out of its conviction of the importance of spreading the values of tolerance and coexistence among peoples of all religions and ethnicities.

Burhan was addressing, via video conference, a youth summit in Israel.

Sudan signed the Abraham Accords based on its sincere effort to affirm and establish the values of peace, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, respect for freedoms and religions, and acceptance of others, he stated.

Israeli students organized the Israel Summit - an international movement devoted to discussion on university campuses between Israel and students and youth of the world, with the participation of international speakers. The event – sponsored by the renowned Harvard and Columbia Universities - also features professional exhibitions and opportunities for academic exchange, and aims to expand students’ horizons in Israel.

This year’s summit, which was held on Feb. 7-11, was attended by a number of political figures, including Burhan, President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, former presidents, a number of US Senate members, scientists and university professors, most notably the CEO of Moderna, the maker of the Covid-19 vaccine.

For the first time in Sudan’s history, Sudanese students and youth participated in such an Israeli gathering, along with their peers from other Arab and Islamic countries.

Burhan urged the Sudanese youth participating in the summit to convey their country’s “vision to spread peace and prosperity on the planet.”

He added: “Our vision is to follow the path of global tolerance, establish concepts of world peace, and contribute to the global and local renaissance, through exchanging experiences with the countries of the region and friendly countries.”

In early January, Sudan signed the Abraham Accords normalizing ties with Israel, alongside an aid agreement promising $1 billion annual World Bank financing during an unprecedented visit by the US treasury chief.

The deals were signed less than a month after Washington removed Khartoum from its state sponsors of terrorism blacklist, a move which followed Sudan’s agreement to normalize ties with Israel in October.



Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
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Far-Right Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir Visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

 Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP)

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian group Hamas.

The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government last month following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Ben-Gvir had quit the cabinet in January in protest at the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Ben-Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation.”

Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people.”

“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defense of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.

The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Ben-Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days,” during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Ben-Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.

The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence.