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| Africa North |
| Saudi FM: Red Sea islands have returned to the kingdom |
| 2016-04-12 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, previously occupied by Israel from Egypt, are now Saudi territories, said Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday. During an interview with Egyptian channel CBC, Jubeir said that the two tiny yet strategic islands, which lie between the tip of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula and Saudi’s western coast, had been under the control of Egypt and that they have now been returned to Saudi. Saudi not having a formable navy gave control of these islands to Egypt to prevent Israeli ships being able to get to Eilat city during the Six-Day War in 1967. But after ceasefire, Egypt continued to be in control of these islands. Jubeir said that it was the right of every country to demarcate its borders, adding that Egypt demarcated its borders with Cyprus and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... also seeks to define its borders with its neighbors. According to Jubeir, the decision to demarcate borders with Egypt was made in a manner that pleases both parties. He said this has been a Saudi demand for years and an agreement on the matter has finally been reached. The top diplomat noted that Saudi Arabia demarcated its borders with Iraq, Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... and the United Arab Emirates over the last few decades. He added that there has been communication with Egypt regarding demarcating the borders since the days of Egypt’s King Farouk and Saudi King Abdulaziz. Farouk was tossed in 1950s and the Saudi King passed away in the same decade. Will Egypt-Saudi deal on Red Sea islands affect Israeli peace treaty? [AlAhram] In 1979 Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty that brought to an end to the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and guaranteed Israeli ships safe passage through the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. The Gulf of Aqaba, which lies between Soddy Arabia and Egypt's Sinai, also includes the Straits of Tiran, where the small islands of Tiran and Sanafir are located, securing the entrance to the gulf. These two islands have become the subject of a controversy in recent days after Egypt announced a deal with Saudi Arabia that acknowledges they fall within Saudi waters. While much of the public debate in Egypt has been focused on whether the islands, which have been claimed by both Saudi Arabia and Egypt at different times, belong to one or the other, the effect the announcement will have on the peace treaty with Israel has yet to be widely discussed. The two islands lie in Sinai's Zone C, according to the peace treaty, and accordingly were among those areas to be patrolled temporarily by international forces. An Egyptian military presence is prohibited in these areas, according to the treaty. In 1982, Israel asked Egypt to allow the international forces securing both islands to remain, after Saudi Crown Prince Fahd said that he would ask the Egyptian authorities to return the islands to Saudi illusory sovereignty following the peace treaty. The Saudi request was never met, and the two islands remained under Egyptian supervision. Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have officially diplomatic relations. But Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince and defence minister, has written a letter to Prime Minister Sherif Ismail stating that the two islands will still be manned by international forces while under Saudi supervision. On Monday, Al-Ahram newspaper reported that the Egyptian authorities had shared that information with their Israeli counterparts. The newspaper reported that if the Israeli government acknowledges the Egyptian-Saudi deal, the Knesset must endorse it. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubier told Egyptian journalists on Sunday that although there will never be any deals sealed with Israel until the Paleostinian crisis is resolved, Riyadh respects Egypt's peace treaty with Israel and it will never negotiate with Tel Aviv over the permanent presence of the international forces on the two islands. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday that his state respected the peace treaty with Egypt, vowing that "the peace status with Egypt is stronger than any time before despite all the ongoing challenges which are facing both states" and describing the bilateral relationship as "an important prerequisite for national security for both countries." However, the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything... official sources told Israeli radio that the issue is being studied by a team of legal and judicial experts afflicted with the Israeli foreign ministry, and the government will announce its stance on the issue when it receives the experts' feedback. Internally, Egypt's decision to hand over the two islands has caused controversy, with some political figures questioning the constitutionality of the decision, while other voices backed the Egyptian stance to return the islands to the Saudi government. The Egyptian government says that its decision comes after a six-year process of studies and eleven rounds of negotiations between officials and experts from Cairo and Riyadh. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 better spread the loads out so they don't tip over i.e.: Guam/Hank Johnson |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-04-12 15:13 |
| #1 Remember a few days ago, there was an article about a bridge connecting Saudi and Egypt? I suggested the bridge might touch down on Tiran Island. Maybe this is all a part of the bridge deal. Or some other plot. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2016-04-12 08:03 |