Despite Public Outcry, Egypt to Transfer Islands to Saudi Arabia<br />ISRAEL Nile Delta Suez Canal JORDAN Cairo SINAI PENINSULA Nile Gulf of Aqaba Gulf<br />of Suez Sanafir EGYPT SAUDI ARABIA Tiran 100 Miles Red Sea JUNE 14, 2017<br />The decision provoked a storm of criticism from Egyptians who accused Mr. Sisi of trading land for money.<br />The Sisi government argued that Egypt has been administering Tiran<br />and Sanafir on behalf of Saudi Arabia since the two countries signed a treaty in 1950.<br />Since Mr. Sisi announced a plan to hand the islands to Saudi Arabia last year, he has faced an unusually virulent backlash.<br />By DECLAN WALSHJUNE 14, 2017<br />CAIRO — The fate of Tiran and Sanafir, a pair of small, barren islands in the Red Sea, is one<br />of the most politically sensitive issues facing Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.<br />In April 2016, during a visit to Cairo by the Saudi monarch, King Salman, Mr. Sisi announced<br />that he had signed a maritime agreement ceding control of the islands, which sit at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.<br />According to a recent poll by Baseera, an Egyptian polling group, only 11 percent of Egyptians say the islands rightfully belong to Saudi Arabia.
