TEL AVIV, 23 October 2020 (Media Report): One-day return trip has heightened speculation that Israel could soon strike a normalisation deal with Sudan, Aljazeera reported.

An Israeli delegation visited Sudan to discuss normalising relations following the Jewish state’s US-brokered deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, news reports said on Thursday.

The one-day return trip heightened speculation Israel could soon strike a peace deal with the Arab-led African country, with which it is technically at war.

A chartered plane left Tel Aviv for the Sudanese capital on Wednesday, according to the specialised air traffic website Flightradar24. Sources in Sudan and Israel confirmed the visit to AFP news agency. 

“A joint American-Israeli delegation visited Khartoum yesterday” and met with Sovereign Council President General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for talks on a normalisation of ties between Sudan and Israel, a Sudanese government source said.

 Israeli sources, requesting anonymity, also confirmed the trip.

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok is ready to proceed with normalising relations with Israel once a yet-to-be-formed transitional parliament has approved the step, two Sudanese government sources told Reuters news agency.

 The comments are the clearest sign that Hamdok, under pressure from the United States, is willing to contemplate Sudan establishing ties with former adversary Israel.

Such a move would not be imminent, because the council still needs to be established under a power-sharing deal between the military officers and civilians who have been running Sudan jointly since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. It is unclear when the assembly will be formed.

 There was no immediate response from the government to requests for comment.