Sudan's Minister of Investment Mubarak al Fadil al Mahdi said he sees no impediment to normalizing ties with Israel, because Palestinians have already done that.
In a Sunday interview with Sudania 24 TV, Fadil also expressed support for the establishment of ties between his country and Israel, adding that such a move might be in Sudan’s interest, reported Haaretz.
Not only that, but the minister went on to add that Palestinians bear a significant measure of responsibility for what happened to them, saying: “They sold their land [to Israelis]."
Fadil accused Arab countries of 'trafficking' the Palestinian cause
The 40 minute interview saw Fadil drop several other controversial statements.
In one of them, he accused Arab countries of 'trafficking' the Palestinian cause.
“The Arab countries trafficked in the Palestinian issue for domestic purposes. The Palestinian issue has held back the Arab world and Arab regimes are taking advantage of it to oppress their own peoples in the name of the struggle for Palestine."
The minister also added that Palestinians had gained nothing from Arab countries' lack of relations with Israel and praised Israeli technology and democracy saying:
“One can agree with the Israelis or disagree with them, but they have a democratic regime."
Who is Fadil?
Fadil is the head of Sudan's National Umma Party.
"He was appointed to his office in May as part of Prime Minister Hassan Salah's reshuffling of positions in Sudan’s national unity government."
Even though the Sudanese government, still doesn't recognize Israel and has no diplomatic ties with it, in 2016, the country saw the beginning of a public debate over the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.
This came after Sudan severed ties with Iran after an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in January 2016.
Israel, who had long accused the country of helping Iran to smuggle weapons into Gaza, then began "encouraging the United States and some European Union countries to improve their ties with it and extend special economic gestures."
People react on social media
Soon after the minister's comments began to make the rounds online, they sparked outrage among social media users.
"He doesn't represent the Sudanese"
To say that people were angry would be an understatement
Some called on the minister to be held accountable for his words
"He should be stopped and punished."
Not everyone stood against the comments though
"All Arab countries normalized relations with Israel, so why not Sudan!!"