April 18, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir said today that his government does not believe that there will be any peace or normalization with Israel.

Sudan official news Agency (SUNA) quoted Bashir as saying that “our convictions that there will be no peace with Israel”.

“All these classifications on right wing, extremist right wing and leftist in Israel is nothing but role swapping to serve the Zionist agenda” Bashir told a delegation of the World Popular Friendship committee.

“The Arab world is a target of conspiracies and plots to target its resources” and added that the Palestinian cause “is the focal Arab issue’.

Bashir said his country believes that normalization with Israel “will weaken the spirit of resistance among the Arab people”.

Sudan does not recognize the Jewish state but it supported a Saudi proposal calling for normalization in return for lands occupied by Israel during the 1967 war.

The Sudanese information minister Al-Zahawi Malik claimed this week that his government was offered lifting of sanctions and normalization with the Western world in return for recognizing the state of Israel but that his country refused the offer.

Israel forcibly became part of Sudanese politics as hundreds of Darfuri refugees flowed across the Egyptian borders into the Jewish causing an embarrassment for Khartoum and dilemma for Tel Aviv. The latter however granted some of the Sudanese refugees temporary residency.

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) headed by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur inaugurated an office in Israel and paid a visit to Tel Aviv this year. Sudanese officials saw this as evidence of Israeli involvement in fueling the six years long Darfur conflict.

Last month it was revealed that Israel launched secret airstrikes inside Sudan against arm smugglers. Khartoum has maintained silence over the incident saying it is still investigating the alleged and will take appropriate actions after findings are made.

Bashir said Sudan supports resistance forces in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Gaza. He hailed the Palestinian resistance against Israeli forces and determination to free the land from occupation.

Sudan has hosted a number of Palestinian militant groups including Hamas displaying public support to them.

Ironically in 2007 the Los Angeles Times quoting CIA officials said Sudan’s intelligence is assisting them in spying against the insurgents in Iraq.

Sudan had assembled a network of informants in Iraq providing intelligence on the insurgency. Some may have been recruited as they traveled through Khartoum.

Sudanese intelligence service has helped the US to attack the Islamic Courts positions in Somalia and to locate Al Qaeda suspects hiding there.

(ST)