The United States announced on Monday that it is pausing assistance from the $700 million Sudan aid package following Sunday's coup attempt in the country.
"Those funds were intended to support the country's democratic transition as we evaluate the next steps for Sudan programming," said State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, as quoted by Haaretz.
"The arrest of civilian government officials and other political leaders, including Prime Minister Hamdok undermines the country's transition to democratic civilian rule," Price added, calling on the civilian-led transitional government to be immediately restored.
"We recognize the legitimate grievances about the pace of the transition," Price added, "but the dismissal of government officials and dissolution of government institutions both violate Sudan's constitutional declaration and abandon the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people."
"Military officials should immediately release and ensure the safety of all detained political actors, fully restore the civilian-led transitional government, and refrain from any violence against protesters – including the use of live ammunition," said Price.
Asked about the possible impact of the Sudan coup on the Abraham Accords, Price replied, "The normalization effort between Israel and Sudan is something that will have to be evaluated as we and as Israel watch very closely what happens in the coming hours and coming days. I wouldn’t want to weigh into that just yet."
Sudan became the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump Administration in October, 2020, following the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The agreement between Israel and Sudan was announced days after then-US President Donald Trump officially removed Sudan from the list of nations that sponsor and finance terrorism.
However, despite the agreement, no steps for full normalization between Israel and Sudan have taken place as of yet.