Netanyahu hails Israel-Sudan normalisation deal

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an Israeli delegation will visit Sudan later this week to finalize the agreement. Netanyahu further assured the change in the map of the Middle East adding that more countries are expected to sign similar agreements with Israel in the near future.

Tel Aviv:Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the recent normalisation deal between his country and Sudan under the auspices of the US, saying the move was a 'result of a clear policy'.

Addressing the media on Saturday evening, Netanyahu said an Israeli delegation will visit Sudan later this week to finalize the agreement, according to the media report.

"This is a major change. Israel was completely isolated and is now connecting to the entire world," the Prime Minister said.

"This is a result of a clear policy, not luck or coincidence," he added.

Netanyahu further said that "we are changing the map of the Middle East", adding that more countries are expected to sign similar agreements with Israel in the near future.

On Friday, Sudan became the third Arab nation after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to normalise relations with Israel in the past three months.

US President Donald Trump made the announcement at the White House with Netanyahu and Sudan's Sovereignty Council chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on the phone with him.

Sudan, which is recovering from civil unrest and the civil war before that which led to South Sudan seceding from it, will be the fifth Arab country to have normal relations with Israel.

The normalising of Israeli ties by the three countries this year ends 26 years of stalemate since Jordan reconnected with it in 1994.

Egypt normalised ties with Israel in 1979.

But Palestine has slammed these peace deals, saying they were a "new stab in the back of the Palestinian people".

(With inputs from IANS)