Despite Public Outcry, Egypt to Transfer Islands to Saudi Arabia
ISRAEL Nile Delta Suez Canal JORDAN Cairo SINAI PENINSULA Nile Gulf of Aqaba Gulf
of Suez Sanafir EGYPT SAUDI ARABIA Tiran 100 Miles Red Sea JUNE 14, 2017
The decision provoked a storm of criticism from Egyptians who accused Mr. Sisi of trading land for money.
The Sisi government argued that Egypt has been administering Tiran
and Sanafir on behalf of Saudi Arabia since the two countries signed a treaty in 1950.
Since Mr. Sisi announced a plan to hand the islands to Saudi Arabia last year, he has faced an unusually virulent backlash.
By DECLAN WALSHJUNE 14, 2017
CAIRO — The fate of Tiran and Sanafir, a pair of small, barren islands in the Red Sea, is one
of the most politically sensitive issues facing Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
In April 2016, during a visit to Cairo by the Saudi monarch, King Salman, Mr. Sisi announced
that he had signed a maritime agreement ceding control of the islands, which sit at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.
According to a recent poll by Baseera, an Egyptian polling group, only 11 percent of Egyptians say the islands rightfully belong to Saudi Arabia.
