06-26-2017, 10:00 PM
*** 27-Jun-17 World View -- Egypt's president al-Sisi hands contested Red Sea islands over to Saudi Arabia
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Egypt's president al-Sisi hands contested Red Sea islands over to Saudi Arabia
****
![[Image: g170626b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170626b.jpg)
Dozens of Egyptian lawyers shout slogans during a protest in front of the Lawyers' Syndicate in Cairo against the agreement to hand over Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. (AP)
Egypt's president Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday ratified an
extremely controversial deal that hands over the two strategically
important Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The
islands are at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, where they oversee the
passage of ships carrying goods between the Red Sea and four countries
-- Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The plans to hand over the islands were part of an April 2016
announcement that the two countries would build a land bridge connected Saudi Arabia and Egypt,
10-20 miles (16-32 km) long, right at the location where the
prophet Moses is said to have parted the Red Sea, in order to bring
his people out of slavery into the Promised Land. It would be called
the King Salman Bridge, named after Saudi Arabia's leader, Salman bin
Abdulaziz al-Saud.
That announcement triggered massive protests
in Egypt, with opponents claiming that Egypt was
forfeiting the country's territory and sovereignty in exchange for
bribery and extortion by Saudi Arabia -- a threat to cut off fuel
subsidies, and the promise of $22 billion in development projects in
Egypt to help its ailing economy.
Opponents of the handover claim that the Tiran and Sanafir islands
were granted to Egypt in 1906 in an agreement to draw up formal
boundaries between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. Supporters of the
deal claim that they've always belonged to Saudi Arabia, but they were
placed under the administration of Egypt in 1949 in the wake of
Arab-Israeli tensions, following the creation of the state of Israel.
The main emotional attachment that Egyptians have to the islands
follows from the fact that many Egyptians died defending the islands
during two wars with Israel, one in 1957 and one in 1967. Israel
captured the two islands in the 1967 Six-Day war, but they were
returned to Egypt under the 1979 Camp David accords.
The validity of the handover has been extremely contentious in Egypt's
court system. In January 2017, Egypt’s High Administrative Court
voided the deal handing over the islands. Then, in April, the Cairo
Court for Urgent Matters OKed the deal, after ruling that the High
Administrative Court has no jurisdiction in the matter. On June 14,
Egypt's parliament approved the deal. Egypt's Constitutional Court
has yet to rule on the matter, and may still nullify the deal.
A major deal such as this one would normally call for lavish
ceremonies, but a decision has been made to have no ceremonies
whatsoever, for fear of triggering further protests. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and France 24 and Egypt Independent
Related Articles
****
**** US troops in Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) not affected by island handover
****
![[Image: g160409b.gif]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g160409b.gif)
Map showing the Red Sea, Strait of Tiran, and Gulf of Aqaba
The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is a little-known
international peacekeeping force from 11 different countries including
the United States, Fiji, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Norway, France, Italy, and others. The MFO is located in
Egypt's Sinai desert, in two camps. The South Camp is located on the
southern tip of the Sinai directly on the Red Sea, where it oversees
the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, and guarantees unimpeded freedom of
navigation and overflight through the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of
Aqaba.
The MFO was originally conceived at the United Nations following the
Camp David Accords. The MFO was proposed in the Security Council,
where it was vetoed by China and Russia. As a result, the US, Egypt
and Israel agreed to set up the MFO as an independent deal outside the
UN framework.
The MFO has 1,667 military personnel supplied by twelve countries and
17 civilian officials. The US contributes nearly 700 personnel to the
MFO, and also pays nearly a third of the organization’s $86 million
annual budget.
The original purpose of the MFO was to guarantee peaceful relations
between Egypt and Israel. It would seem to have outlived its
usefulness, since relations between Egypt and Israel have never been
better. However, when President George Bush wanted to scale back the
MFO in 2003 in order to save money, both Egypt and Israel joined
together to urge the US to reconsider. As a result, there is little
or no desire on anyone's part to eliminate or scale back the MFO, and
the Tiran and Sanafir island handover should have no effect.
It's considered to be the most successful peacekeeping operations in
recent history, and it's expected to continue. The Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) web site and Global Security
and Politico (1-Nov-2015)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sinai, Israel,
Tiran, Sanafir, Gulf of Aqaba, Strait of Tiran, Red Sea, Moses,
Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi, Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud,
Camp David accords, Multinational Force and Observers, MFO
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Egypt's president al-Sisi hands contested Red Sea islands over to Saudi Arabia
- US troops in Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) not affected by island handover
****
**** Egypt's president al-Sisi hands contested Red Sea islands over to Saudi Arabia
****
Dozens of Egyptian lawyers shout slogans during a protest in front of the Lawyers' Syndicate in Cairo against the agreement to hand over Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. (AP)
Egypt's president Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday ratified an
extremely controversial deal that hands over the two strategically
important Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The
islands are at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, where they oversee the
passage of ships carrying goods between the Red Sea and four countries
-- Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The plans to hand over the islands were part of an April 2016
announcement that the two countries would build a land bridge connected Saudi Arabia and Egypt,
10-20 miles (16-32 km) long, right at the location where the
prophet Moses is said to have parted the Red Sea, in order to bring
his people out of slavery into the Promised Land. It would be called
the King Salman Bridge, named after Saudi Arabia's leader, Salman bin
Abdulaziz al-Saud.
That announcement triggered massive protests
in Egypt, with opponents claiming that Egypt was
forfeiting the country's territory and sovereignty in exchange for
bribery and extortion by Saudi Arabia -- a threat to cut off fuel
subsidies, and the promise of $22 billion in development projects in
Egypt to help its ailing economy.
Opponents of the handover claim that the Tiran and Sanafir islands
were granted to Egypt in 1906 in an agreement to draw up formal
boundaries between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. Supporters of the
deal claim that they've always belonged to Saudi Arabia, but they were
placed under the administration of Egypt in 1949 in the wake of
Arab-Israeli tensions, following the creation of the state of Israel.
The main emotional attachment that Egyptians have to the islands
follows from the fact that many Egyptians died defending the islands
during two wars with Israel, one in 1957 and one in 1967. Israel
captured the two islands in the 1967 Six-Day war, but they were
returned to Egypt under the 1979 Camp David accords.
The validity of the handover has been extremely contentious in Egypt's
court system. In January 2017, Egypt’s High Administrative Court
voided the deal handing over the islands. Then, in April, the Cairo
Court for Urgent Matters OKed the deal, after ruling that the High
Administrative Court has no jurisdiction in the matter. On June 14,
Egypt's parliament approved the deal. Egypt's Constitutional Court
has yet to rule on the matter, and may still nullify the deal.
A major deal such as this one would normally call for lavish
ceremonies, but a decision has been made to have no ceremonies
whatsoever, for fear of triggering further protests. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and France 24 and Egypt Independent
Related Articles
- Egypt-Saudi deal for Red Sea bridge triggers massive protests in Cairo (16-Apr-2016)
- Largest protests in years planned for Cairo Egypt on Monday (25-Apr-2016)
- Egypt, Saudi Arabia to build a huge bridge where Moses parted the Red Sea (10-Apr-2016)
****
**** US troops in Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) not affected by island handover
****
Map showing the Red Sea, Strait of Tiran, and Gulf of Aqaba
The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is a little-known
international peacekeeping force from 11 different countries including
the United States, Fiji, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Norway, France, Italy, and others. The MFO is located in
Egypt's Sinai desert, in two camps. The South Camp is located on the
southern tip of the Sinai directly on the Red Sea, where it oversees
the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, and guarantees unimpeded freedom of
navigation and overflight through the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of
Aqaba.
The MFO was originally conceived at the United Nations following the
Camp David Accords. The MFO was proposed in the Security Council,
where it was vetoed by China and Russia. As a result, the US, Egypt
and Israel agreed to set up the MFO as an independent deal outside the
UN framework.
The MFO has 1,667 military personnel supplied by twelve countries and
17 civilian officials. The US contributes nearly 700 personnel to the
MFO, and also pays nearly a third of the organization’s $86 million
annual budget.
The original purpose of the MFO was to guarantee peaceful relations
between Egypt and Israel. It would seem to have outlived its
usefulness, since relations between Egypt and Israel have never been
better. However, when President George Bush wanted to scale back the
MFO in 2003 in order to save money, both Egypt and Israel joined
together to urge the US to reconsider. As a result, there is little
or no desire on anyone's part to eliminate or scale back the MFO, and
the Tiran and Sanafir island handover should have no effect.
It's considered to be the most successful peacekeeping operations in
recent history, and it's expected to continue. The Multinational Force & Observers (MFO) web site and Global Security
and Politico (1-Nov-2015)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sinai, Israel,
Tiran, Sanafir, Gulf of Aqaba, Strait of Tiran, Red Sea, Moses,
Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi, Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud,
Camp David accords, Multinational Force and Observers, MFO
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
