Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 4 February 2020
Israeli PM meets Sudan's leader, aims for 'normalization'

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — peace initiative, which
Israeli Prime Minister Benja- heavily favors Israel. It
min Netanyahu said Mon- would allow Israel to keep
day he met with the leader all of its settlements in the
of Sudan's transitional gov- West Bank and most of an-
ernment and that they be- nexed east Jerusalem, ter-
gan the process of normal- ritories captured by Israel in
ization, a major diplomatic the 1967 war.
breakthrough after years of The Palestinians want east
Israeli efforts to improve ties Jerusalem and the West
with African nations. Bank as part of their fu-
Netanyahu said he met ture state. The Trump plan
with Gen. Abdel-Fattah would instead grant them
Burhan in Entebbe, Ugan- limited autonomy over
da, a meeting that was Gaza, chunks of the West
only made public after- Bank and some sparsely
wards when the prime min- populated areas of Israel,
ister tweeted about it in He- with a capital on the out-
brew. skirts of Jerusalem.
"We agreed to begin co- The Palestinians have ada-
operation that will lead to mantly rejected the plan,
normalization of relations and the Arab League — in-
between the two coun- cluding Sudan — backed
tries," Netanyahu tweeted. their position at an emer-
"History!" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their gency meeting on Satur-
Netanyahu's office said meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. day.
the meeting came at the Associated Press The Palestinians view Israeli
invitation of Uganda. It settlements in east Jeru-
said Netanyahu "believes that have peace agree- The Israeli leader was wel- government is "studying" salem and the West Bank
that Sudan is moving in a ments with Israel. comed by Uganda's prime the matter. as an obstacle to peace.
new and positive direction, It could also give Netan- minister at the international Most countries have their Most of the international
and the prime minister ex- yahu a boost ahead of airport in Entebbe, where embassies in Tel Aviv be- community supports that
pressed his views to the U.S. March 2 elections. He has Netanyahu's brother Yo- cause they view the fi- position and considers
Secretary of State." portrayed himself as a natan was fatally struck nal status of Jerusalem as them illegal.
That appeared to be a ref- world-class statesman who by a bullet as he led Israeli something that should be Israel has long courted Af-
erence to Sudan's efforts to has developed close ties commandos in a daring negotiated with the Pales- rican support. In exchange
be removed from the U.S. with world leaders as he mission to rescue hijacked tinians. President Donald for its expertise in secu-
list of state sponsors of ter- has tried to keep the focus Israeli passengers in 1976. Trump broke with that con- rity and other fields, Israel
rorism, a key step in rebuild- off his recent indictment on Israel's success in the raid sensus when he recognized wants African states to
ing its economy following corruption charges. humiliated then-Ugandan Jerusalem as Israel's capital side with it at the U.N. Gen-
the uprising that toppled Netanyahu arrived in Ugan- President Idi Amin, under and moved the U.S. Embas- eral Assembly, which over-
longtime strongman Omar da on Monday, saying his whose rule Israel closed its sy there in 2018. The move whelmingly recognized
al-Bashir last year. country is "returning to Afri- embassy in Uganda. infuriated the Palestinians, Palestine as a non-member
In recent years, Netanyahu ca in a big way" and urging Netanyahu, who was ac- who cut off contacts with observer state in 2012.
has pushed to improve ties the East African country to companied by his wife the U.S. Reports in Israel in recent
with African countries that open an embassy in Jeru- Sara, held a meeting with Museveni has repeatedly years have suggested it
have long had cool rela- salem. Ugandan President Yoweri said Uganda supports a might normalize diplomatic
tions with Israel over the Before departing Israel, Museveni and other offi- two-state solution to the relations with several Mus-
conflict with the Palestin- Netanyahu spoke of "very cials. In a news conference Palestinian issue. During Ne- lim countries in Africa. Israel
ians. Restoring diplomatic important diplomatic, eco- later on Monday, Netanya- tanyahu's trip to Uganda in renewed diplomatic rela-
ties with Sudan — a mem- nomic and security ties that hu said he would open an 2016, Museveni urged both tions with Guinea in 2016.
ber of the Arab League will yet be told about." He embassy in Kampala, the sides to live "side by side in After Netanyahu visited
— will be seen in Israel as said that at the end of his Ugandan capital, if Musev- two states ... in peace and Chad for a renewal of ties
a major achievement. U.S. visit to the East African na- eni established one in Jeru- with recognized borders." in 2019, it was reported that
allies Egypt and Jordan tion he hopes to "have very salem. The Ugandan lead- Last week, Trump unveiled Israel was working to for-
are the only Arab countries good news" for Israel. er responded by saying his his long-awaited Mideast malize ties with Sudan.q
Al-Qaida in Yemen claims deadly Florida naval base shooting

By SAMY MAGDY Saudi Air Force in training at the attack. SITE Intelligence training the shooter, but did gets.
Associated Press the base. He opened fire Group, which tracks mes- indicate that Alshamrani The video, which was
CAIRO (AP) — Al-Qaida's inside a classroom at the saging by militant groups, and AQAP were in com- viewed by The Associated
branch in Yemen claimed base on Dec. 6, killing three reported the claim. munication, said Rita Katz, Press, provided a will writ-
responsibility Sunday for people and wounding two AQAP has long been con- director of SITE. It was not ten by Alshamrani to his
last year's deadly shoot- sheriff's deputies before sidered the global net- clear when the video was family in September 2019,
ing at the Naval Air Station one of the deputies killed work's most dangerous recorded. three months prior to at-
Pensacola by an aviation him. Eight others were also branch and has attempted The video claimed that tack. He said he wanted
student from Saudi Arabia. hurt. to carry out attacks on the Alshamrani had been plan- to attack the U.S., citing
The shooter, 2nd Lt. Mo- Al-Qaida in the Arabian U.S. mainland. ning for years to attack a religious reasons. However,
hammed Saeed Alsham- Peninsula, or AQAP, re- The 18-minute video did U.S. base, and had been he made no mention of al-
rani, was a member of the leased a video claiming not provide evidence of training and "selecting" tar- Qaida.q