Egypt’s parliament to broadcast Tiran and Sanafir discussions

CAIRO – 16 April 2017: The Egyptian parliament has agreed to broadcast the sessions tackling the maritime borders agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, known as Tiran and Sanafir deal, sources at the parliament told Al-Mal newspaper Sunday.

Spokesman of the House of Representatives Ali Abdel Aal has endorsed the decision to “uncover the whole truth before the public opinion,”Al-Mal reported, adding that Abdel-Aal has requested a list of the public figures who will attend the sessions to represent both sides of argument.

Following a court verdict endorsing a controversial deal to hand over the two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia early April, the cabinet referred the agreement to the House of Representatives to look into the issue and present it to the committees in charge.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by Egyptian lawyers Khaled Ali and Malek Adly has called for the ruling to be considered a “material obstacle” (irrelevant in terms of the law) and, consequently, be dismissed as well as all of its effects.

Egypt relinquished control of the islands, located at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba, in April 2016 when Saudi King Salman bin Abdelaziz was visiting Cairo and reached an agreement with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

The Administrative Judiciary Court annulled the deal in June 2016 and asserted the Egyptian government had no authority to cede the territory to Saudi Arabia. However, the recent ruling once again endorsed the agreement, which has consequently been referred to the parliament.