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>Egypt's government approves deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia

CAIRO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - 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. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba; writing by Amina Ismail; Editing by Giles Elgood)</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>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.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Channelnewsasia.com.</s>The Egyptian cabinet approved the Egyptian-Saudi maritime demarcation deal on Thursday, and sent it to parliament.

The Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir continue to be a source of public debate amid the Administrative Court’s decision to annul the demarcation agreement, deeming that the islands are Egyptian land that cannot be ceded.

The sovereignty of the lands is still disputed in Egyptian courts, as the government in many cases failed to present documents to prove that the islands belong to Saudi Arabia.

On 8 April, the government concluded the demarcation deal with Saudi Arabia during an official visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. It sparked widespread discontent among both pro- and anti-government factions in the country, leading to a number of protests and arrests.</s>Egypt's Cabinet has approved the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia despite protests earlier this year and a court ruling the transfer unconstitutional.

The state-run MENA news agency reported Thursday that President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government approved the deal and sent it to parliament for ratification despite the court ruling, which the government has appealed.



 The transfer was announced alongside a Saudi aid package, leading critics to condemn it as a land sell-off. The signing of the agreement in April set off the largest demonstrations of el-Sissi's two-year rule.

The government says the uninhabited islands, Tiran and Sanafir, were always part of Saudi Arabia but were placed under Egypt's protection decades ago over fears of an Israeli attack.



 

 Tarek al Awady, one of the lawyers who filed the court case against the agreement, told The Associated Press that they will challenge the government's approval of the deal in court, calling it unconstitutional. He says neither the government nor the parliament can contradict the court ruling. A higher court is set to rule on the government's appeal on Jan. 16.

Saudi Arabia has provided billions of dollars in aid to Egypt since el-Sissi, who was then the military chief, led the overthrow of an elected Islamist president in 2013. But ties have worsened in recent months as Egypt has expressed support for the Syrian government. Saudi Arabia is a leading sponsor of the rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.</s>Cairo, Dec 30 (IANS) The Egyptian cabinet approved a maritime border demarcation agreement signed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, local media reports said.

According to state-run MENA news agency, the cabinet decided to refer the agreement to the House of Representatives after finalizing all required preparations and procedures for endorsement in line with the constitution, Xinhua news agency reported.

Egypt’s cabinet announced in April that the joint Egyptian-Saudi technical maritime border drawing showed the islands of Tiran and Sanafir fall within the Saudi waters.

The agreement provoked an immediate backlash in Egypt, with hundreds of people protesting against “selling the islands”.

The administrative court later ruled that “all rights of the two islands to Saudi Arabia are null and void”. The State Lawsuits Authority, the body representing the government in legal cases, then appealed the decision.

On December 19, Egypt’s High Administrative Court has set January 16 as the date when it will rule on the government’s appeal against its earlier ruling nullifying the demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia.

The islands, which have a strategic significance in the area, are currently inhabited only by military personnel from Egypt as well as the multinational force and observers.

The government’s decision Thursday came as relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been going through ups and downs due to their different visions on various issues including the Syrian crisis, the war in Yemen and other issues.</s>Sending the Egyptian-Saudi maritime demarcation deal to parliament is another violation of the law and Constitution, said lawyer Malek Adly, who is the initial plaintiff in the “Red Sea islands” court case.

His statements came following the cabinet’s approval for the Egyptian-Saudi maritime demarcation deal, which transfers the sovereignty of the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. The cabinet forwarded the agreement to parliament on Thursday.

The decision came just a few weeks before the scheduled final ruling of the Administrative Court on 16 January over the government’s appeal against the nullification of the deal—a verdict that was issued earlier.

Adly is one of the plaintiffs who opened the case in court in April. Subsequently, the court had annulled the deal in June, and asserted Egyptian sovereignty of the islands, but the government appealed the decision.

On 8 April, the government concluded the demarcation deal with Saudi Arabia during an official visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. It sparked widespread discontent among both pro- and anti-government factions in the country, leading to a number of protests and arrests.

The lawyer said that the cabinet’s decision is a violation since the islands’ sovereignty is still disputed in court, adding that the surprising decision of the cabinet might impact the court ruling in a way that is not in the opponents’ interest.

Throughout the court sessions, the government failed to submit valid documents proving Saudi’s sovereignty over the islands. The presented documents even sometimes proved that the islands were Egyptian.

Adly added that the decision will lead the signatories to face Article 123 of the Penal Code, which punishes any public employee who defies a court ruling with imprisonment or expulsion from office.

The lawyer’s statement implies that the government would face a criminal case if the parliament approved the agreement, and even criminal investigations.

“The cabinet does not have the authority to sign international conventions in accordance to the Constitution and no one has the right to waive any Egyptian land in accordance to the Constitution,” the lawyer said.

He further added that “no authority across the world has the power to violate the Constitution that it had sworn to respect”.

Following the decision, a large number of political parties, lawyers, and activists expressed their outrage and rejection on social media platforms, asserting their belief that the islands are Egyptian.

Moreover, member of parliament Haitham El-Hariri will present a statement during Monday’s parliamentary session, calling on the parliament to not approve the agreement, since this would be a violation of the law and Constitution.

Last week, MP Mostafa Bakry demanded that Prime Minister Sherif Ismail attend to parliament on 2 January to clarify why there has been a delay in conveying the details of the islands agreement to the House of Representatives.</s>By Daily News Egypt The sovereignty of the islands is still disputed in Egyptian courts
The Egyptian government approves a deal granting two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.