Egypt parliament agrees to island transfer to Saudi Arabia: State TV

CAIRO — Egypt’s parliament approves on Wednesday a controversial maritime agreement with Saudi Arabia that transfers two Red Sea islands to the kingdom, state television and a lawmaker say.

The deal, which is still under challenge in court, had sparked rare protests in the country with the opposition accusing the government of selling Egyptian territory to its Saudi benefactors.

The vote comes after days of heated debate in parliament with opponents even interrupting one committee session with chanting.

Courts had struck down the agreement, signed in April 2016, but a year later another court upheld it.

Lawyers are now challenging the deal before the constitutional court.

The government has said the islands were Saudi to begin with, but were leased to Egypt in the 1950s. Opponents of the agreement insist that Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian.

— AFP