Egypt court says decision to block Red Sea islands transfer to Saudi Arabia is void

A court in January rejected a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands – Tiran and Sanafir – to Saudi Arabia after a maritime demarcation accord was announced in April.

A picture taken on January 14, 2014 through the window of an airplane shows the Red Sea islands of Tiran (foreground) and Sanafir (background) in the Straits of Tiran between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula aShow more

CAIRO // Egypt’s court of urgent matters ruled on Sunday that a judicial decision to block the transfer of two Red Sea Islands to Saudi Arabia was void, potentially reviving a deal that had triggered protests in Egypt.

A court in January rejected a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia after a maritime demarcation accord was announced in April. The accord, which sparked street protests, awarded sovereignty of the islands to Saudi Arabia, even though most Egyptians believe they belong to Egypt.

The urgent matters court ruled on Sunday “in favour of disregarding the ruling (in January) of the high administrative court”, as “the judiciary doesn’t have the authority to interfere with matters of sovereignty”, said Ashraf Farahat, the lawyer who filed the latest lawsuit.

The latest judicial decision is subject to appeal, and any final transfer agreement must be approved by parliament, but the latest twist comes as relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia appear to be warming after months of tension.

Last week, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi accepted an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom in April, a move that came on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s decision to restore oil aid shipments to Egypt after a roughly six-month freeze.

The ongoing island litigation had previously been a source of unease between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which has given Cairo tens of billions of dollars in aid in recent years.

Saudi and Egyptian officials have argued that the islands – Tiran and Sanafir – belonged to Saudi Arabia and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.

But lawyers who oppose the accord have said Egypt’s sovereignty over the islands dated back to a treaty in 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded.

* Reuters and Agence France-Presse