Israeli officials “play down” reports on contacts with Sudan, Libya
JERUSALEM, Mar 11, 2004 (The Jerusalem Post) — Diplomatic officials played down media reports Wednesday [10 March] that Israel is holding secret and indirect diplomatic contacts with Sudan and Libya.
According to an Army Radio report, a Jewish US official secretly met last month with Sudanese President General Umar al-Bashir in the capital of Khartoum and transmitted a message that Israel is interested in holding diplomatic meetings that would lead to a normalization of ties between the two countries.
In addition, the report said Sudan’s ambassador to Washington met with Jewish officials there and expressed his country’s readiness to talk with Israel.
One diplomatic source dismissed the report as baseless since Israel has no interest right now in developing relations with Sudan, which he described as an “impoverished, Islamic fundamentalist, pariah state that is slaughtering Christian residents”.
The official said that Jewish businessmen from around the world often contact Israeli embassies abroad with offers to carry messages to countries without formal diplomatic ties with Israel. These offers, he said, are often motivated both by a genuine desire to help Israel, and also by a feeling that carrying a message from Israel may increase their stature in the eyes of the country where they are doing business.
The Army Radio report said a meeting also took place recently in Italy between a Libyan intelligence official and Jewish representatives. Similar meetings, according to the report, have taken place recently in Europe and the US.
The official said that the since the West is reopening the gates to Libya following Libyan leader Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi’s declaration of intent to dismantle his weapons of mass destruction, numerous businesspeople have come to Israel with offers to relay messages to the Libyans. Up until now, the official said, the Libyans have shown no interest.
The press reported widely in December that Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom’s top aide, Ron Prosor, met in November with a Libyan official. In addition, it was reported that Al-Qadhafi’s son, Sayf al-Islam, met in August with two MKs [members of Knesset].
According to assessments in Jerusalem, Libya’s willingness to dismantle its WMD programme has led to sharp criticism in the Arab world. One way for Al-Qadhafi to preserve his credentials, therefore, is to continue championing the Palestinian cause. For this reason, according to these assessments, the Libyan ruler is in no great hurry to normalize ties with Jerusalem, especially since he is under no US or British pressure to do so.