Egyptian junta leader Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had been criticized for awhile for being a recipient of Saudi largesse, and is now facing a full-blown crisis with his announcement that a pair of Red Sea islands are being transferred to Saudi Arabian control.
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“Here you have Salman coming to Egypt, pledging billions of dollars in aid and investment, and in exchange these islands are handed over”, Shehata said. Egypt’s decision to hand over the two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to Saudi Arabia caused a lot of controversy among Egyptians. Haidy Farouq, a borders expert, said on ONTV that there is evidence of Egyptian ownership of the islands dating back to the 2nd century, and that she has maps and documents backing Egypt’s ownership.
For his part, Mahmoud al-Batanoni, professor of economics at Cairo-based Future Academy, expressed hope that Egypt has conducted feasibility studies for these Saudi projects to ensure their benefit to the Egyptian economy.
“As long as the Saudis are OK with Israel and the Arabs are focused on efforts against Iran, Saudi-Egypt control of the Red Sea is not a problem”, he said.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have forged close alliance after their relationship had been damaged by Riyadh’s role in the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a close ally of Ankara.
The two islands, along with the rest of Sinai, were conquered twice by Israel – in Operation Kadesh in 1956 and in the Six Day War in 1967.
King Salman’s visit to Egypt did not intend to satisfy a specific institution, party or ideology, it was a historic handshake with all of Egypt. In this historic visit, the Saudi monarch became the first king to visit Al-Azhar mosque according to a statement from Al-Azhar itself.
The North African country is a partner to Saudi-led military coalition that has since March 2015 been undertaking an aerial campaign in Yemen against rebels backed by Iran that is Saudi Arabia’s regional rival. In this picture taken Saturday, April 9, 2016, provided by the office of the Egyptian Presidency, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, sits with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in the Abdeen Palace, Cairo.
The uninhabited islands sit at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. “Egyptian presence on the two islands does not mean we have sovereignty over them”, he told a TV interviewer late Sunday.
Memes also appeared mocking the perceived blind loyalty of supporters of President Sisi, as opposed to the criticism levelled at previous Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. “We reached an agreement between the four parties – the Saudis, the Egyptians, Israel and the United States – to transfer the responsibility for the islands, on condition that the Saudis fill in the Egyptians’ shoes in the military appendix of the peace agreement”.
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She said the agreements, signed with the Saudi finance minister, covered development in the Sinai peninsula, agriculture, housing and a university.
