“The Muslim Brotherhood hereby declares unequivocally that no one has the right to abandon the property and resources of the Egyptian people in exchange for a fistful of dollars, or in exchange for support for government policies sanctioning murder, detentions, violations, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings”, the movement said in a statement.
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Egypt’s oldest secular university on Monday granted King Salman of Saudi Arabia an honorary doctorate for his “unique services” to Arabs and Muslims, the final function in a five-day visit clouded by opposition to Cairo’s intention to hand over control of two Red Sea islands to Riyadh.
It went on to note that the deal would be brought before Egypt’s parliament – which is dominated by pro-regime MPs – for ratification. Israel captured the islands in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, but returned it to Egypt after the two nations signed a peace treaty in 1979.
The Haaretz report also said that the agreement allows renegotiation and global arbitration in case Israel objects to Egypt’s decision to transfer the islands’ sovereignty to Saudi Arabia.
Egypt had announced it would back Saudi Arabia with ground troops if needed, but appears to have balked at the prospect of becoming mired in the conflict.
Egypt has also joined an anti-terror Islamic coalition unveiled by Saudi Arabia late past year. “There are agreements and commitments that Egypt has agreed to regarding these islands, and Saudi Arabia is abiding by these commitments without having a relationship or communication with Israel”, Jubeir was quoted as saying.
King Salman’s address was received with roaring applause and a standing ovation.
The announcement, in which Egypt declared that the two islands were actually in Saudi Arabian, not Egyptian, waters was made on the occasion of a visit to Egypt by Saudi King Salman Al-Aziz over the weekend.
Egyptians from ordinary citizens and activists to former officials and politicians line up to vent their anger at President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s decision to hand over two islands to Saudi Arabia. However, the Accords also forbade Egypt from placing any military forces on the island, and it is not clear that the Saudis have agreed to this.
Eilat is Israel’s only port in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, while Aqaba is Jordan’s sole outlet there.
The two countries delineated their sea border for the first time in 2010 and spent the next five years claiming ownership of the two uninhabited islands.
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Egyptian state TV said the agreement was to establish “a Saudi-Egyptian investment fund with a capital of 60 billion riyals between the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the entities belonging to it and the Egyptian government and the entities that belong to it”.
