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Egypt-Saudi islands deal unconstitutional: Journalist

Tuesday, 03 January 2017 4:07 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 03 January 2017 4:07 PM ]

Egyptians react on December 19, 2016 at the high administrative court as a judge announces the postponing of a court ruling in the case of two Red Sea islands to January 16, 2017, in the capital Cairo. (Photo by AFP)

Egyptian security forces have arrested 12 people for holding protest against the government’s decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. Some sources have said that scores of people, mostly lawyers and journalists, took part in the demonstration around the Journalist’s Union building in central Cairo on Monday. Critics have accused President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of ignoring Egyptian territorial integrity for money, with reports saying that Cairo is receiving 20 billion dollars in aid from Riyadh in return for accepting to relinquish sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir.

Sherif el-Touni, a journalist and political commentator from Cairo, says the Egyptian people feel their government’s decision to give two islands to the Saudi kingdom is not acceptable and tolerable.

Egyptian activists have filed a lawsuit against the decision by the parliament, because they call the deal between Saudi and Egyptian governments “unconstitutional” and “void,” Touni told Press TV’s Top 5 on Tuesday.

“Why we (Egypt) are going to ratify this deal with the parliament, while we have a court decision about it stating that it is unconstitutional,” he said.

People in Cairo “have been arrested for chanting [slogans] against giving up those two islands,” because the activists say that Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian islands and they are not going to accept such a decision, which is undermining Egypt’s territorial integrity.

He added that “there is a pile-up of disappointment and frustration for the Egyptian people,” because they are suffering from economic hardship and currency devaluation as well as political mistakes such as handing over two islands to Saudi Arabia.

According to the analyst, “Saudi Arabia has a very interesting history where they choose the right timing” to materialize their dreams for the lands and islands they wish.

In December, Cairo’s appeal court approved a verdict by a lower court that rejected the June ruling by the administrative court. A more senior tribunal, the Higher Administrative Court, is due to deliver a verdict on January 16.

The disputed islands of Tiran and Sanafir lie about four kilometers apart in the Red Sea. They are situated in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories.

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