Sudanese Delegation Set to Visit Israel

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudanese Delegation Set to Visit Israel

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A high-ranking Sudanese delegation is expected in Israel in the coming days, a political source in Tel Aviv has revealed.

The upcoming visit will follow that of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Khartoum two weeks ago, during which he met his Sudanese counterpart as well as the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and other senior officials.

The Sudanese delegation will hold talks in Jerusalem on the draft peace agreement to advance bilateral relations.

The delegation will be headed by a Sudanese general who is also a minister.

During his visit to Khartoum, Cohen discussed the draft peace agreement between Israel and Sudan.

After his return, the minister said the deal should be signed this year after the transfer of power to a civilian government in Khartoum.

Sudan would thus become the fourth country to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, after the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.

During his discussions, Cohen spoke of Israel's willingness to assist Sudan's development efforts in various areas, including security, food, water resources management, and agriculture.

Both sides are expected to hold intensive talks on the agreement so that it is ready by the time power is transferred to civilians in Khartoum.



Lebanese President Says Hezbollah Disarmament Will Come through Dialogue Not ‘Force’ 

President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanese President Says Hezbollah Disarmament Will Come through Dialogue Not ‘Force’ 

President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon's president said Monday that the disarmament of the Hezbollah group will come through negotiations as part of a national defense strategy and not through “force.”

The Lebanese government has made a decision that “weapons will only be in the hands of the state,” but there are “discussions around how to implement this decision,” President Joseph Aoun said in an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Those discussions are in the form of a “bilateral dialogue” between the presidency and Hezbollah, he said.

Lebanon has been under pressure by the United States to speed up the disarmament of Hezbollah but there are fears within Lebanon that forcing the issue could lead to civil conflict.

“Civil peace is a red line for me,” Aoun said.

Aoun said the Lebanese army — of which he was formerly commander — is “doing its duty” in confiscating weapons and dismantling unauthorized military facilities in southern Lebanon, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in late November, and sometimes in areas farther north.