Muslim Brotherhood slams Egypt’s surrender of Red Sea islands

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood yesterday rejected a demarcation agreement that has been signed between Cairo and Riyadh under which sovereignty for the two uninhabited Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, will be transferred to Saudi Arabia.

The remarks came in an official statement made by the group in which they slammed what they described as the “abandonment of Egypt’s precious lands”, especially after a Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the deal was void.

The group stressed that their calls stemmed from their legitimate right to defend the “country’s properties”, adding that it “neither recognises the Egyptian parliament nor its decisions”.

Read: Egypt court allows transfer of Tiran, Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia

The statement also warned of an “expected popular revolution by the Egyptians.”

On Sunday, the Egyptian opposition politicians, including former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, announced their intention to organise a popular demonstration in Tahrir Square if the parliament approved the transfer of the two islands.

A brawl broke out in the Egyptian parliament on Sunday during the first round of negotiations over the agreement. The debate is scheduled to extend for three days.

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Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, told MPs that there is no legal foundation for Egypt’s possession of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir. Adding that Egypt occupied these two Saudi islands in 1967 “in order to safeguard them against Israeli aggression”.