Israel hails ‘new era’ with Sudan but Palestinians lament ‘new stab in the back’

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel hailed a new era in its relations with the Arab world on Friday after the announcement of plans to normalize ties with Sudan, an agreement the Palestinians described as a “new stab in the back”.

“This is a new era. An era of true peace. A peace that is expanding with other Arab countries – three of them in recent weeks,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement. Israel reached normalization agreements last month with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

“In Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, the three principles of the Arab League were adopted in 1967: No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel,” said Netanyahu.

“Whereas today Khartoum says – yes to peace with Israel, yes to recognition of Israel and to normalization with Israel.”