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After heated internal discussions, Sudan’s transitional Sovereignty Council has reportedly decided to normalize relations with Israel. According to Arab media, the Trump Administration gave Khartoum an ultimatum to recognize the Jewish state within 24 hours in exchange for being removed from the US terrorism blacklist.
The Sovereignty Council, which was created following the overthrow of longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir, was apparently divided on the matter, with military leaders in favor of Washington’s proposal – which also includes an economic aid package – and civilian members opposed to the prospect.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sovereignty Council chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan held a surprise meeting in Uganda, thus paving the way for the establishment of bilateral ties.
It comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday met with his Saudi counterpart in Washington. During a joint press conference, the top US diplomat urged Riyadh to follow in the footsteps of both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain by formalizing relations with Israel.
Pompeo added that he hoped the Saudi leadership could help convince the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. He also suggested that a decision by the House of Saud to open official diplomatic channels with the Jewish state would result in a “robust program of arms sales” to the Gulf kingdom.
Iran was reportedly hit by a major cyberattack that disrupted one of the country’s largest ports and shut down government-run Internet services. The attack targeted Bandar Abbas, located near the Strait of Hormuz, and impacted communications systems, banks, customs services, transportation and other infrastructure.
It marked the second such incident in Bandar Abbas this year. In May, operations at the port were almost completely halted due to a cyberattack widely attributed to Israel.
Antisemitism Watch: A TikTok representative has promised Israeli ministers that the social media platform is committed to stopping the proliferation of antisemitism.
Responding to a surge of antisemitic content on the Internet, various parliamentary bodies have in recent months held a series of discussions about different ways to tackle the phenomenon.
After not sending any representative to previous meetings, and facing accusations of ignoring the spread of hate speech on its platform, a TikTok official participated in a session convened by the Knesset’s Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora Committee.
“As I mentioned in previous meetings with Facebook, Google and Twitter representatives, TikTok and others must adopt and implement the IHRA definition of antisemitism,” MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh of the Blue & White party said, referring to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
This “includes comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, Holocaust denial as well as delegitimization, demonization and double standards toward Israel – and [to] use this accepted definition to mark antisemitic content,” she added.
Flamingos heading to Africa have made a migration stop in Atlit, south of Haifa. Located at the nexus of three continents, and featuring a climatic diversity that ranges from arid desert in the south to a cooler mountainous region in the north, Israel draws about 500 million birds annually from 550 species.
In contrast, the entire continent of North America, which is 1,000 times Israel’s size, attracts barely twice as many species.
- Lebanon and Israel Hold Talks on Disputed Sea Border Despite State of War (BBC)
- The Arab World and Israel Embark on a New Mission (Jason Shvili, Israel Hayom)
- With One Post, Mark Zuckerberg Changed Holocaust Education Forever (Zak Jeffay, Times of Israel)
- HBO Max To Air Yom Kippur War Drama Valley of Tears, Israel’s Biggest-Budget TV Series Ever (Curt Schleier, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
- The Astonishing Revival of Israel’s Persian Fallow Deer (Naama Barak, Israel2C)
