Israeli Security Delegation Meets Military Leaders in Sudan

People hold Sudanese flags during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)
People hold Sudanese flags during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)
TT

Israeli Security Delegation Meets Military Leaders in Sudan

People hold Sudanese flags during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)
People hold Sudanese flags during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)

A high-ranking official Israeli security delegation arrived in Khartoum Wednesday to meet with Sudanese military and security leaders.

The visit is part of a series of meetings between Khartoum and Tel Aviv since the top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Entebbe, Uganda, in February 2020.

Sudan signed the Abrahamic Accords on January 6, 2021, and normalized relations with Israel.

Sources in Khartoum reported that the delegation is expected to hold meetings with Burhan, his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the chief of General Intelligence, Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal.

Sudanese and Israeli authorities did not reveal the nature of those discussions, but a source told Asharq Al-Awsat that they were limited to the security aspects and recent developments in the country.

The Israeli public broadcaster, Kan, reported that a high-level delegation arrived from Tel Aviv for a visit that lasts hours, during which talks will be held with Sudanese military leaders.

Kan indicated that the Israeli delegation took off from Ben Gurion Airport in the morning and made a "diplomatic stopover" in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt before leaving for Sudan.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office did not confirm or deny the news.

The broadcaster gave brief information about the visit without specifying the names or ranks of the participants.

The last visit of an Israeli delegation to Sudan was in November, chaired by the head of the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, according to Kan. Khartoum did not disclose the purpose of the secret visit.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a senior official in the Rapid Support Forces received the visiting delegation at Khartoum airport.

The delegation’s visit came in light of the complex political and economic situations in Sudan.

In recent weeks, Sudan has been in turmoil amid daily anti-coup protests and clashes with the security forces.

On Monday, the security forces killed seven people and wounded hundreds of others. As a result, the Forces for Freedom and Change called for two days of civil disobedience on Tuesday.



Israel Presses Jenin Raid

Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
TT

Israel Presses Jenin Raid

Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli army vehicles block a road on the second day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 22 January 2025. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

A Palestinian official reported shooting and explosions in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday as Israeli forces pressed a raid that the military described as a "counterterrorism" operation.

"The situation is very difficult," Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, told AFP.

"The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to the Jenin camp, and leading to the Jenin Governmental Hospital... There is shooting and explosions," he added.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin which Palestinian officials said killed 10 people, just days after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the Gaza Strip.

According to Abu al-Rub, Israeli forces detained around 20 people from villages near Jenin, a bastion of Palestinian militancy.

The Israeli military said it had launched a "counterterrorism operation" in the area, and had "hit over 10 terrorists.”

"Additionally, aerial strikes on terror infrastructure sites were conducted and numerous explosives planted on the routes by the terrorists were dismantled," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The Israeli forces are continuing the operation."

Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to continue the assault.

"It is a decisive operation aimed at eliminating terrorists in the camp," Katz said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the military would not allow a "terror front" to be established there.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency announced that, in coordination with the Border Police, they had launched an operation named "Iron Wall" in the area.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid aimed to "eradicate terrorism" in Jenin.

He linked the operation to a broader strategy of countering Iran "wherever it sends its arms — in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen," and the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 800 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 2023.