Court invalidates unpopular land deal with Saudis
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Monday ruled against the government’s attempt to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, an embarrassment for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that could deepen tensions with his onetime gulf patron.
The decision to transfer the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir, announced alongside a Saudi aid package last year, fueled accusations of a sell-off and sparked the largest protests of el-Sissi’s 2½-year rule.
The deal was signed last April during a visit by Saudi King Salman, who announced billions of dollars in Saudi loans and investment. The government insists the islands always belonged to Saudi Arabia and were merely placed under Egypt’s protection in the 1950s.
But the Supreme Administrative Court, in a unanimous verdict, upheld a lower court’s ruling that the move was unconstitutional. It said the islands were Egyptian and that the government provided no documents to prove otherwise.
The ruling marks a major setback for el-Sissi, who rode to power on a surge of nationalism after leading the 2013 military overthrow of Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt’s first freely elected president.
El-Sissi has since presided over a crackdown on dissent, banning all unauthorized protests and jailing thousands. But the islands deal galvanized opposition among many of his former supporters, and hundreds took to the streets last April after it was announced.
Monday’s verdict was met with an eruption of cheers from activists and lawyers in the Cairo courtroom.
Khaled Ali, a former presidential candidate and the head lawyer contesting the deal, was lifted onto the shoulders of supporters while flashing the V-for-victory sign and chanting: “The land is Egyptian.”
The government’s options are now limited. It can appeal to the Supreme Constitutional Court, arguing that the president has the right to conclude such a deal, or submit the entire agreement to international arbitration.