Arab-Israel ties divide Sudanese leaders

CAIRO, Oct 04 (AP): Sudan's fragile interim government is sharply divided over normalizing relations with Israel, as it finds itself under intense pressure from the Trump administration to become the third Arab country to do so in short order - after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Washington's push for Sudan-Israel ties is part of a campaign to score foreign policy achievements ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

Sudan seemed like a natural target for the pressure campaign because of U.S. leverage - Khartoum's desperate efforts to be removed from a U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism. Sudan can only get the international loans and aid that are essential for reviving its battered economy once that stain is removed.

While Sudan's transitional government has been negotiating the terms of removing the country from the list for more than a year, U.S. officials introduced the linkage to normalization with Israel more recently.