Egypt Court Overrules Transfer of Red Sea Islands to Saudi Arabia
Local Editor
An Egypt court voted against a previous verdict authorizing the transfer of two strategic Egyptian Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, something President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to in a controversial deal with Riyadh.
The administrative court ruled on Tuesday that all judicial decisions taken to date by the Urgent Matters Court would be considered invalid. The latter had previously ruled in favor of the bilateral deal enabling the transfer in 2016.
The Tiran and Sanafir islands can be used to control access to the ‘Israeli' port of Eilat. Recent reports have indicated that Riyadh and Tel Aviv are mulling over establishing economic relations.
"The ruling signifies that the land is Egyptian," said Khaled Ali, a lawyer who argued at the administrative court that the islands belonged to Egypt.
The verdict would affirm that any attempt to transfer the islands to Saudi Arabia would be considered unconstitutional "even if the president ratified the agreement," he added.
The Zionist entity had captured the isles back in 1967 along with vast swathes of other Arab territory but returned them to Egypt as part of the 1979 Camp David Accords deal with Cairo.
The Egyptian parliament ratified the accord between Sisi and the Saudi king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. But the Egyptian president is yet to endorse it. However, he risks further angering the Egyptian public, who have already launched protests against the transfer of the islands to Saudi Arabia.
Egyptians accuse Sisi of giving away the country's territory in exchange for financial and political incentives awarded by Riyadh.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
