Parliament dismisses previous court rulings in 1st session on Tiran and Sanafir

Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdel Aal has stated that Parliament does not acknowledge the State Council’s January decision which ruled that the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian.

Abdel Aal’s assertion was echoed by several other government officials as the Parliament's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee met on Sunday to discuss the controversial maritime border agreement, which transfers sovereignty over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, signed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in April last year.

The State Council ruled in January that the islands are Egyptian, a decision which the government has contested in the ongoing legal battle.

The committee will reconvene on Monday morning and is expected to prepare a recommendation to be presented to the General Assembly on Tuesday ahead of a vote.

Abdel Aal defended the land transfer throughout the five-hour meeting accusing the State Council of hijacking the parliament's’ jurisdiction. “The Parliament defends its right to deliberate the Tiran and Sanafir agreement,” he said, adding that it “does not recognize any court rulings on the matter. Any challenge to the Parliament’s jurisdiction from any authority to will not be recognized.”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Omar Arafa, who also attended the committee’s session agreed, saying: “There are other final judicial rulings that delegitimize the State Council’s ruling.”

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and several military generals, in addition to constitutional law professor Salah Fawzy and modern history professor Assem al-Dessouky, who all argued that the islands belong to Saudi Arabia.

Addressing the committee, Shoukry said that deposed President Mubarak already determined Saudi Arabia’s right to the islands in a 1990 decree. He added that the 2016 maritime border agreement was signed after 11 rounds of negotiations between the two countries.

Member of Parliament Ihab al-Khouly said that the committee will reconvene on Monday to hear experts’ testimonies, and will hold a closed meeting on Tuesday to prepare the final report.

MP Haitham al-Hariry, a member of the 25-30 Coalition which objected to Parliament deliberating the agreement and has notably contested some of the government’s decisions, told Mada Masr that the session consisted of “nonsense” and “obvious collusion” to pass the the agreement.

“I didn’t know that the executive and legislative authorities would unite to this extent to give up the land,” he said.

Hariry added that Parliament only summoned experts to argue that the islands belong to Saudi Arabia without giving any space for opposing opinions, speculating that the agreement will likely be passed within a week.

At the start of the meeting members of the 25-30 Coalition demanded vote on the constitutionality of deliberating the matter after a court ruling was issued, however Abdel Aal rejected this request, accusing the MPs of trying to sabotage the session.

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Translated by Heba Afifiy