Egyptian Court to Rule on Gov’t Appeal Over Red Sea Islands Deal in January

Egypt’s high administrative court in Cairo is set to rule in mid-January on a deal under which Egypt would cede two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia as Egypt’s government appeals the court’s earlier decision to void the deal, local media reported on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Ahram Online news website, the Egyptian government submitted documents to the court, which could prove that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir actually belong to Saudi Arabia. The Court would rule on the appeal on January 16, the website said.

In April, the agreement between Cairo and Riyadh on the two islands located at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba was voided by the court and triggered a week of mass rallies on the streets in central Cairo.

Egypt has been in control of Tiran and Sanafir for over 60 years. The islands could be potentially used for constructing a bridge across the Red Sea, announced on April 8 by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.