The announcement was made as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ended and on the eve of Eid al-Fitr festivities, a major public holiday when Egyptians are busy preparing to spend time with their families.
The presidents office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rafiq Sharif, a lawyer for the government, said that the decree was now law and that the two islands were under Saudi sovereignty.
Mr. Sisis government announced the maritime agreement last year with Saudi Arabia, an ally that has given billions of dollars of aid to Egypt. The Egyptian and Saudi governments said the islands were Saudi but had been subject to Egyptian protection.
Saudi Arabia has helped Mr. Sisi since he toppled President Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013, and the wrangling over the Red Sea deal was a source of tensions between the two countries.
The transfer has been a long time coming; Riyadh has made it clear they expect the islands and Cairo agreed, said H. A. Hellyer, a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, a research group based in the United States. But considering the amount of opposition to the transfer, the speed at which it happened is instructive. It shows Sisis administration doesnt feel there is much of a risk to be taken.
The issue touched a patriotic nerve, bringing thousands of protesters to the streets in April chanting people want the fall of the regime, a slogan little heard since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
Those rallies were one of the first signals that Mr. Sisi, a general before he became president, no longer enjoyed the broad public support that let him round up thousands of opponents after he seized power.
Read the rest here:
Egyptian President Agrees to Cede 2 Islands to Saudi Arabia - New York Times
- Water Purification Island - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Private Islands: South China Sea Style - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Best of Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- High Cay: Bahamas - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The World: Back on the Market - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Island Market is Back - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Haunted Halloween Island - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ambergris Island Property - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Paradise Sinking - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Parrot Cay: Own a Piece of Privacy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Icky Day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- It's a Cory's! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- There she blows! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bye bye Whale - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Bunting Mistake - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Whale of a time... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Leaving day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Look who's back... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lanced... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Migrants role in... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pups away! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Double take - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Northerly wind blows - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Northern visitors - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Siege! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storm time - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storm season - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Storming over - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sealing mission - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Still no go - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Over they go! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All change - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Welcome back storms - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fight club - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- V Australia to Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tahiti Sun Travel For Sale - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cook Islands Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Perfectly Frank – Fiji - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cook Islands Tax Hike - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Easter Island Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Surviving Paradise - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Canada Seal Hunt ‘09 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tuvalu Travel Guide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Saudi Arabian Sojourn - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laurent Pichot on Moorea - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Largest Island for Sale in the World. - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Isla Kiniw: Incredible Island Rental - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Save at Sandals Resorts - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Marvelous Mediterranean: Skyropoula Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Branson Talks Necker Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Hog Island: Affordable Nova Scotia - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Banyan Tree: Seychelles - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Celebrity Secret Vacation Spots - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Star Island - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- 7 Islands in 7 Days - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Counting continues - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Life goes on - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Payback time - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- No let up - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Game on - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Deal or No Deal? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Food glorious food - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Mainland beckons... - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The tempest is coming - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tought times ahead - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tystie day - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Saying Goodbye...maybe - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Departure Day - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Seal pups - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Seabird Breeding Season 2009 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Maritime Terminal Papeete Tahiti - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A splash of colour - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- Tiger Woods Wife purchases Island Retreat - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- New Flights to Fiji - December 18th, 2009 [December 18th, 2009]
- Five Star Fiji - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Go Farther in Nicaragua - December 19th, 2009 [December 19th, 2009]
- Zoo Island - December 21st, 2009 [December 21st, 2009]
- Seasons Greetings 2009 - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Green Ark Island - December 23rd, 2009 [December 23rd, 2009]
- Merry Christmas! - December 25th, 2009 [December 25th, 2009]