But in an apparent allusion to Egyptian-Israeli relations, he added: “There is an agreement and commitments that Egypt accepted related to these islands, and the kingdom is committed to these”. A new agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia over control of two islands in the Gulf of Aqaba has implications for the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, thus requiring Cairo to keep officials in Jerusalem informed of the developments.
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Also, 21 agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed between the two countries in the various fields.
Saudi Arabia has no official relations with Israel, but Israeli public radio and several newspapers cited Yaalon as saying, in a briefing restricted to Israeli defence reporters, that Israel had received pledges on the preservation of the status quo from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as from the United States, a signatory to the Israel-Egypt peace accord.
The Israeli expert also mentioned the agreement to build a bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea and how this could facilitate huge amounts of new commerce between Africa and Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, King Salman and Sisi agreed to set up a $16 billion investment fund, and also settled the long-standing maritime dispute. During King Salman’s visit, he negotiated a trade-off with Egyptian leaders, where Saudi Arabia would be given two Egyptian islands in the Gulf of Aqaba in return for continued Saudi aid to Egypt. Egyptians have been fiercely critical of their government’s decision to give away the two islands, Tiran and Sanafir. Former head of Egypt’s Military Operations Authority, Abdel Munem Said, said Tiran and Sanafir belong to Egypt. He urged the parliament, which must ratify the agreement, not to endorse it. Harry Truman recognized Israel’s sovereignty over Eilat, a crucial military foothold and Israel’s only access point to the Red Sea.
Therefore, today, “the Saudi-led coalition, that includes Egypt, has nearly full control of the Red Sea, from its entrance at the Mandeb Strait to the Suez Canal”. It is associated in the mind of many Egyptians with their country’s four wars against Israel between 1948 and 1973, a time of nationalistic fervor and patriotism.
“An appeal was made to us – and it needed our agreement, [and the agreement of] the Americans who were involved in the peace agreement and of the MFO”, Ha’aretz quotes Ya’alon, who refers to the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping forces stationed in the area.
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Cairo and Riyadh spent the next five years claiming ownership of the islands before finally agreeing in December 2015 that they were within Saudi territorial waters.
