CAIRO: Egypt's government has approved a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and sent it to parliament for ratification, despite a legal dispute over the plan, according to state television. The deal, announced in April, caused public uproar and rare protests by Egyptians who said the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir belonged to their country.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com. </s> A top Egyptian court has issued a final ruling rejecting a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

Cheers broke out in the Cairo courtroom as the judge read out the verdict confirming Egyptian sovereignty over Tiran and Sanafir and saying the government had failed to provide evidence that the islands were Saudi.

The deal to transfer the islands, announced in April, caused public uproar and protests by Egyptians, who believe Tiran and Sanafir belongs to their country.

The islands have become a source of tension with Saudi Arabia, which has provided Egypt with billions of dollars of aid but recently halted fuel shipments amid deteriorating relations.

Tiran and Sanafir are situated in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel. Saudi and Egyptian officials say they belong to Saudi Arabia and were under Egyptian control only because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them. </s> A top Egyptian court issued a final ruling on Monday rejecting a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in a deal that had provoked outrage among Egyptians and prompted rare protests.

Cheers broke out in the Cairo courtroom as the judge read out the verdict confirming Egyptian sovereignty over Tiran and Sanafir and saying that the government had failed to provide evidence that the islands were Saudi. </s> Egypt's government has approved a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and has sent it to parliament for ratification on Thursday, according to state television.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian state advisory body recommended that a Cairo court uphold a ruling that annulled an agreement giving Saudi Arabia control of two islands.

The agreement, announced in April, caused a public uproar and rare protests by Egyptians who said the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir were Egyptian.

In June, the Higher Administrative Court annulled the agreement, saying Egyptian sovereignty over the islands could not be given up. The Egyptian government lodged an appeal. </s> CAIRO: Egypt’s government has approved a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and sent it to parliament for ratification, despite a legal dispute over the plan, according to state television.

The deal, announced in April, caused public uproar and rare protests by Egyptians who said the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir belonged to their country.

The controversy has become a source of tension with Saudi Arabia, which has provided billions of dollars of aid to Egypt but has recently halted fuel shipments amid deteriorating relations.

In June, the Higher Administrative Court annulled the agreement, saying Egyptian sovereignty over the islands could not be given up.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian state advisory body recommended the court to uphold its original decision in a report seen by Reuters.

The court is due to issue its final verdict on Jan 16 and is not obliged to follow the advisory body’s report.

The government’s latest move shows “the collapse of the state of law and the constitution” in Egypt, said Khaled Ali, a lawyer who filed the June lawsuit to annul the deal.

“The decision that parliament is going to issue is void and the people should defend their land with all legitimate means against this tyrant regime that doesn’t respect either law or judiciary,” Ali said.

Tiran and Sanafir are situated in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel.

Saudi and Egyptian officials say they belong to Saudi Arabia and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.

Lawyers who opposed the handover said Cairo’s sovereignty over the islands dated to a 1906 treaty, before Saudi Arabia was founded.

Egypt’s govt approves deal to hand two Red Sea islands to S Arabia was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on December 30, 2016 and was last updated on December 30, 2016. This news story is related to Print/175500-Egypts-govt-approves-deal-to-hand-two-Red-Sea-islands-to-S-Arabia/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Egypt’s govt approves deal to hand two Red Sea islands to S Arabia" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/175500-Egypts-govt-approves-deal-to-hand-two-Red-Sea-islands-to-S-Arabia. </s> The Egyptian parliament approved in a final vote on Wednesday a controversial deal under which Egypt is to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian state TV reported.

The approval came during a general session that was held earlier in the day following the approval of the parliament’s defence and national security committee. The parliament’s legislative committee passed it on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The Egyptian parliament is divided over a maritime demarcation deal signed last year, according to which Egypt will hand over the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The majority of members are in favour of the deal.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his administration see that the two islands originally belonged to Saudi Arabia and it is time to return them to their rightful owners, while opposers of the deal believe that the islands are Egyptian and giving them up will be sacrificing national soil for temporary interests.

Egyptian courts have previously nullified the agreement that was signed in April 2016 during a rare visit of Saudi King Salman to Egypt.

Saudi Arabia led Gulf support to Sisi’s government with billions of dollars and tons of oil supplies following the Sisi-led removal of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests. </s> Parliament approves controversial treaty to hand over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.

Egypt's parliament has voted to ratify a 2016 agreement under which Cairo would transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday's vote, during which those politicians in favour of the accord were asked to stand up in the house, came shortly after the 596-seat chamber opened a debate on the pact earlier in the day.

The debate followed clashes the previous night between police and opponents of the deal in downtown Cairo that saw policemen kick, punch and use sticks to beat several dozen protesters.

The outcome of the vote was a foregone conclusion since parliament is packed with supporters of the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The government insists the islands of Tiran and Sanafir at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba were always Saudi but were placed under Egypt's protection amid Arab-Israeli tensions in the 1950s.

Critics have linked the islands' transfer to the billions of dollars in Saudi aid given to Sisi's government, saying it amounts to a sell-off of sovereign territory.

The island of Tiran, a popular destination for Red Sea divers, controls a narrow shipping lane that leads to and from the ports of Eilat and Aqaba, in Israel and Jordan respectively.

Egypt's unilateral closure of that lane was among the main reasons behind the outbreak of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in which Egypt lost the entire Sinai Peninsula.

The agreement to hand over the islands was announced during the April 2016 visit to Cairo by the Saudi king, leading to the largest anti-government protests since Sisi took office in 2014. Hundreds of demonstrators and activists were arrested, with most later released.

A court ruled against the islands' transfer in January, but politicians who support the deal say parliament has the right to ratify international agreements.

"There is nothing in the agreement that violates the constitution," Kamal Amer, chairman of the defence committee, told the house on Wednesday.

"It is designed to realise and perpetuate the mutual interests of the two nations and it also came in response to Saudi requests [to take back the islands] made in 1984, 1989 and 1990."

"The demarcation of the border between Saudi Arabia and Egypt confirmed that the islands are on the side of that brotherly nation, but we are confident that they [the islands] will always be used to serve national Egyptian and Arab security," Amer added.

Earlier on Wednesday, members of the defence and national security committee said they approved the deal with a 35-2 vote in favour of the pact, paving the way for the document to be ratified by the full house.

The house's legislative and constitutional committee approved the deal on Tuesday after a three-day, often raucous review during which politicians got into heated arguments, pushed and shoved each other and came close to blows. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s government has approved a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and sent it to parliament for ratification, despite a legal dispute over the plan, according to state television.

An aerial view of the coast of the Red Sea and the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir is pictured through the window of an airplane near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 1, 2016. Picture taken November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The deal, announced in April, caused public uproar and rare protests by Egyptians who said the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir belonged to their country.

The controversy has become a source of tension with Saudi Arabia, which has provided billions of dollars of aid to Egypt but recently halted fuel shipments amid deteriorating relations.

In June, the Higher Administrative Court annulled the agreement, saying Egyptian sovereignty over the islands could not be given up. The Egyptian government lodged an appeal.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian state advisory body recommended the court uphold its original decision, in a report seen by Reuters.

The court is due to issue its final verdict on Jan. 16 and is not obliged to follow the advisory body’s report.

The government’s latest move shows “the collapse of the state of law and the constitution” in Egypt, said Khaled Ali, a lawyer who filed the June lawsuit to annul the deal.

“The decision that parliament is going to issue is void and the people should defend their land with all legitimate means against this tyrant regime that doesn’t respect either law or judiciary,” Ali said.

However, Nabil al-Gamal, member of the legislative and constitutional committee in parliament, said there was “absolutely no conflict” in sending the agreement to parliament for ratification before the court’s final ruling.

“I expect the parliament not to vote ... on the agreement before the judiciary rules, so that there won’t be any conflict between them,” said al-Gamal.

Tiran and Sanafir are situated in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel.

Saudi and Egyptian officials say they belong to Saudi Arabia and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.

Lawyers who opposed the handover said Cairo’s sovereignty over the islands dated to a 1906 treaty, before Saudi Arabia was founded. </s> The Egyptian authorities tried last year to transfer the sovereignty of two rocky islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to Saudi Arabia, triggering a national uproar.

The uninhabited islands at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba were supposed to be used to build a bridge across the Red Sea, according to plans disclosed by the Saudi king in April.
The Egyptian parliament approves the transfer of two uninhabited Red Sea islands, Tiran Island and Sanafir Island, to Saudi Arabia.