UAE arranged Netanyahu, Sudan leader meet: Israel daily

ISTANBUL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) organized the meeting between Israeli premier and Sudan’s sovereign council head, according to an Israeli daily.

On Monday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudan’s Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan met in Uganda for talks.

The Times of Israel newspaper, which quoted a “high-ranked” Sudanese military official, reported Monday that the UAE organized the meeting.

The Sudanese official was cited as saying that only a “small circle” of senior officials in Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were informed about the meeting. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as not authorized to speak to the media.

The source added that al-Burhan agreed to meet Netanyahu because officials thought that this would help to "accelerate" the process of removing Sudan from the U.S. terror list.

“We agreed to begin cooperation that will lead to normalization of relations between the two countries,” Netanyahu tweeted.

However, Israel said the meeting was arranged by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Palestinian factions condemned the meeting, while the Sudanese government said in a brief statement that it had not been notified or consulted about the meeting.

Saeb Erekat, PLO secretary-general, said the meeting amounts to "a stab in the Palestinians' back."