Sudanese official denies plans for Netanyahu’s visit

By Bahram Abdel-Moneim and Abdel Ra'uof Arnaout

KHARTOUM (AA) - A Sudanese party member has denied media reports about plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Sudan.

The Israeli Corporation Authority reported that Netanyahu was planning to visit Khartoum, without giving an exact date for the visit.

Citing Israeli sources, the authority said Israeli experts were working to establish relations between Israel and Khartoum.

“These reports are totally untrue,” Abdel-Sakhi Abbas, a member of Sudan's ruling National Congress party, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

“Netanyahu cannot visit Sudan and there is no talk about this visit in official Sudanese circles,” he said.

He said Khartoum is against establishing ties with Israel because of its occupation of Palestinian land.

“Israel is occupying an Arab, Muslim state, attacking holy sites and preventing Muslims from performing their religious rituals,” he said.

On Sunday, Netanyahu met with Chadian President Idriss Deby, who arrived in Israel for his first visit.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 10 TV channel that Deby’s visit was laying the groundwork for normal ties between Israel and the Muslim-majority African states of Sudan, Mali and Niger.

Last month, Netanyahu visited the Gulf state of Oman, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

And on Monday, Israeli Economy Minister Eli Cohen was officially invited to attend an international high-tech conference next year in Bahrain.