El-Sisi ratifies Saudi islands deal

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ratified a treaty that hands over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, the Cabinet said Saturday. El-Sisi ratified the maritime border treaty days after Parliament approved the deal.

The treaty was first announced in April 2016. The government says the two islands — Tiran and Sanafir — have always been Saudi but were placed under Egypt’s protection in the 1950s amid Arab-Israeli tension.

“Nations are governed by constitutions and laws and legitimate rights, not whims or emotions,” the presidency had quoted El-Sisi as saying. They were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war before being returned to Egypt under the 1979 Camp David Accords.

“This matter has been closed and I am only bringing it up again because we have nothing to hide,” El-Sisi said earlier this week. “You have entrusted me with this nation and for this I will be held accountable not just before you but also before God.”