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Rabat – Israel is considering handing over two disputed territories currently under Egyptian sovereignty to Saudi Arabia, paving the way for normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported today citing unnamed official sources.
The two territories in question are Tiran and Sanafir, two strategically located islands in the Red Sea. While the islands fall officially under Egyptian jurisdiction, transferring them to the sovereignty of another country requires the permission of Israel.
According to Saudi and Egyptian officials, Saudi Arabia originally gave the territories over to Egypt in 1950.
However, following the Arab-Iraeli war of October 1973, Egypt and Israel signed a treaty whereby Tiran and Sanafir became fully demilitarized and was placed under the observation of a multinational task force spearheaded by the US.
Egypt had previously approved transferring the two territories back to Riyadh in 2018, but the decision caused widespread public protests in the country.
As the decision necessitates the approval of Israel under the 1976 treaty, the transfer remained pending for four years, allowing the US-led observation team to continue its mission and allowing maritime freedom to ships heading for Israel’s Eilat Port.
Haaretz’ report indicates that the Biden administration is brokering a new round of negotiations between Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel to transfer the two territories.
The Israeli newspaper quoted its sources as saying that negotiations are still ongoing and that the current White House administration aims to seal the deal before Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East in late June.
Despite not officially normalizing ties, Israel and Saudi Arabia have been engaging in behind-the-scenes negotiations on defense and other “strategic” issues.
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