An Egyptian rejects as illegal a marine demarcation border agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia under which Cairo would surrender control over two strategic Red Sea islands to Riyadh.
The verdict by the administrative court inflicts a serious foreign policy setback to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s government which, together with loyal media, has zealously argued that the agreement would bring economic benefits for Egypt and that the islands are owned by Saudi Arabia, which merely placed them under Egyptian control in 1950 for protection.
The Red Sea islands of Tiran, in the foreground, and Sanafir, in the background, sit at the the Strait of Tiran between Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images, via JTA)
The uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir control narrow shipping lanes leading north to the port cities of Eilat and Aqaba in Israel and Jordan respectively. The closure of those lanes in 1967 by then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser is chiefly blamed for the outbreak of the June 1967 Arab-Israeli war in which Egypt lost the Sinai Peninsula. It was returned to Egypt, together with the two islands, under its landmark 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
There was no immediate comment from the Saudi or Egyptian governments on the court ruling. Egypt’s parliament, which is packed by government supporters, has yet to endorse the agreement.
— AP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
