Egypt’s Mubarak declares two Red Sea islands as Saudi Arabian territory

The two Red Sea strategic islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Saudi-sovereign territories, Egyptian government official sources quoted the former ousted president Hosni Mubarak in an interrogation at the Cairo Maadi hospital.

Mustafa Bakri, an independent MP and journalist, has said that the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a re-demarcation border deal last April, during a visit by King Salman Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to Cairo, which placed the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir in Saudi territorial waters.

In June, an administrative court ruled that the 8 April border demarcation agreement was void and that the islands should remain under Egyptian sovereignty.

Bakri told reporters on Saturday that he expects the deal to be discussed by the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, the National Security and Defence Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Arab Affairs Committee.

“As far as I know, speaker [Ali] Abdel-Aal has also decided that a number of high-profile international law experts such as former minister Moufid Shehab, be invited to give their say on the deal,” he said.

Egypt’s High Administrative Court has set 16 January 2017 to rule on the government’s appeal against an earlier June ruling by an administrative court halting implementation of the deal.

“The Egyptian-Saudi border demarcation deal should take a long time in terms of discussion in parliament,” he said. “MPs should carefully review all kinds of documents before they give a final vote on whether the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Saudi,” he added.

The MP defended the decision saying,” The Egyptian-Saudi border demarcation deal should take a long time in terms of discussion in parliament,” he said. “MPs should carefully review all kinds of documents before they give a final vote on whether the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Saudi”, he explained.

The maritime border demarcation deal sparked widespread public outcry and a number of protests. Dozens of protesters stood trial for demonstrating without permits. Most have been released from jail after paying hefty fines, according to Egypt’s Ahram Online.