Egyptian President ratifies deal that cedes two islands to Saudi Arabia

According to the official position, dismissed by many Egyptians, the islands had always belonged to Saudi Arabia and Egypt only administered them at the request of the founder of the kingdom, Abdel Aziz al-Saud, who asked Cairo to protect them because he had no naval force.

Before being ratified by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the transfer was approved by Parliament on June 14.

On June 21, during an address at the "iftar" (evening meal after the daytime fasting of Ramadan), El-Sisi considered the controversy settled and, with the approval of the deal by Parliament, said "the matter is finished."

The president said that "homelands cannot be bought or sold" and said that "countries are governed by the rule of law and realities," an apparent response to those who accuse him of selling or giving away national territory to Saudi Arabia.

Following Parliament's decision, social networks were full of chat about the matter, with the hashtag "El-Sisi traitor" frequently seen on Twitter.

The approval by Parliament came after several judicial rulings against the deal on grounds that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, were judged to be Egyptian.

Nonetheless, the Constitutional Court decided to temporarily suspend those sometimes contradictory rulings until a final decision was reached in the case.

The political parties of the opposition, leftist movements and Egyptian activists have rejected the "sale" of the islands and mobilized some of the biggest protests against the El-Sisi government since he took power in 2013.

The Egyptian Rights and Freedoms Commission said that 146 people were detained last week after the protests were called to repudiate the pact.

The two small islands are in a strategic position at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, from where the Israeli port of Eliat and the Jordanian port of Aqaba could readily be blocked.