Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday ratified an agreement that cedes
sovereignty over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, brushing off
widespread public criticism of the deal.
The Red Sea
islands accord has become politically sensitive for Sisi. He counts on Saudi
Arabia as a key ally, but street protests broke out over the agreement last
year among Egyptians angered over the concession.
Egypt's
parliament last week backed the deal handing control of Tiran and Sanafir
islands to Saudi Arabia, but it has also become the subject of a legal tussle
between different courts over jurisdiction.
"President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ratified the maritime demarcation agreement between
the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the cabinet
said in a statement.
The
announcement was made just as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends and on the
eve of Eid al-Fitr festivities, a major public holiday when Egyptians are busy
preparing to spend time with their families.
The
presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Government
lawyer Rafiq Sharif told Reuters the decree was now law and the two uninhabited
islands were under Saudi sovereignty.
All court
decisions on the agreement were temporarily suspended this week by the head of
the constitutional court, until it makes a ruling on which institution had the
final say.
Parliamentary
leaders and government lawyers say the House of Representatives is the only
entity allowed to rule on sovereignty. But in June last year the country's
highest administrative court ruled Egypt's sovereignty must stand.
Sisi's
government announced the maritime agreement last year with Saudi Arabia, an
ally which has given billions of dollars of aid to Egypt. The Egyptian and
Saudi governments said the islands are Saudi but have been subject to Egyptian
protection.
Saudi Arabia
had helped Sisi since he toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim
Brotherhood in 2013, and legal wrangling over the Red Sea deal was a source of
tensions between the two countries.
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After last
year's administrative court ruling, Saudi Arabia temporarily halted fuel
shipments to Egypt, part of its aid deal. At the time, both sides denied any
political fallout was involved and relations have since improved.
"The
transfer has been a long time coming; Riyadh has made it clear they expect the
islands and Cairo agreed," said H.A. Hellyer, senior non-resident fellow
at American think tank Atlantic Council.
"But
considering the amount of opposition to the transfer, the speed at which it
happened is instructive. It shows Sisi's administration doesn't feel there is
much of a risk to be taken."
Still,
Egyptians are increasingly critical over the state of the country's economy
after years of political upheaval and a devaluation, tax rises and subsidy cuts
introduced by Sisi's government.
The islands
issue touched a patriotic nerve, bringing thousands of protesters to the
streets in April chanting "people want the fall of the regime", a
slogan little heard since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
Those
rallies were one of the first signals the former general no longer enjoyed the
broad public support that let him round up thousands of opponents after he
seized power.
"Now
that the president has ratified it, the agreement is a law," said Khaled
Ali, chief lawyer defending the case for the islands being Egyptian and a
former presidential candidate.
"So we
will continue the legal battle to show that it is unconstitutional and
void."
REUTERS
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