3 hours ago
Image from an airplane window showing the islands of Tiran (foreground) and Sanafir (background) in the Red Sea in the Strait of Tiran between Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia
US President Joe Biden said in a press conference held Friday evening in Saudi Arabia that the US peacekeeping forces stationed on the islands of Tiran and Sanafir will leave the two islands following having settled there for more than 40 years according to the Camp David agreement.
This has brought the controversy over the two strategic islands back to the fore between those who say that the two islands belong to the Arab Republic of Egypt and those who say that the two islands belong to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
It is noteworthy that Biden’s statement comes following an Israeli statement that it does not mind handing over the two islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia following the 2016 agreement, and following Saudi Arabia’s decision to open its airspace to civil aviation, including Israeli.
The Egyptian side
On the Egyptian side, a label was issued on Saturday morning #Tiran_Sanafir_Egyptian social networking sites, where those who claim Egyptian sovereignty over the two islands confirmed that they belong to the Egyptian Arab Republic.
Saudi side
While on the Saudi side, a similar hashtag is #Tiran_and_Sanafir_Saudi Arabia to emphasize the affiliation of the two islands to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and supporters of this opinion published what they said were pictures and evidence supporting this opinion.
The Israeli statement
Others referred to the Israeli statement that preceded the Biden conference, in which Israel said that it did not mind handing over the two islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, following Saudi Arabia’s decision to open its airspace to civil aviation, including Israeli.
Calls for calm
The controversy between the Egyptian and Saudi sides through the communication sites was accompanied by calls to stave off strife and renounce hatred, in addition to emphasizing brotherhood between the two brotherly peoples.
Strategic location
The islands of Tiran and Sanafir are regarding four kilometers apart in the waters of the Red Sea. The two islands control the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, the ports of Aqaba in Jordan, and Eilat in Israel.
Tiran Island is located at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, on a strategically important stretch of the so-called “Strait of Tiran”, which is Israel’s way into the Red Sea.
Tiran Island is the closest of the two islands to the Egyptian coast, located six kilometers from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea.
The decision of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in April 2016 to annex the two islands to Saudi Arabia sparked a state of popular anger and an internal crisis between supporters and opponents of the decision.
Angry reactions erupted in Egypt, rejecting the agreement to hand over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba to Saudi Arabia, and Egyptian courts ruled to nullify the agreement, but the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court suspended those provisions.