Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has ratified a controversial treaty that transfers two largely uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.
The deal to hand over Tiran and Sanafir was agreed during a visit to Egypt by Saudi King Salman a year ago. It was backed by Egypt’s parliament last week.
One Egyptian court has annulled the handover decision, while another court has upheld it.
The constitutional court is yet to make a final ruling on which institution had the final say.
Last week, parliament backed the deal, saying it had jurisdiction in the matter. The move sparked fresh protests in Cairo, with opponents accusing Sisi of violating the constitution and handing over the islands to please Saudi Arabia which has backed him financially since he led the military’s overthrow of his elected Islamist predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013. Read more at BBC.
{Matzav}
