CAIRO (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime is reportedly considering a Saudi request to change the international status of two disputed islands in the Red Sea, a move that is expected to lay the ground for the normalization of ties between Riyadh and the occupying regime.
The request involves the finalization of the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir, two strategic islands in the Red Sea, from Egyptian to Saudi sovereignty, according to the occupying regime’s daily Haaretz which cited unnamed officials as reporting the development on Sunday.
Saudi and Egyptian officials say Riyadh, in 1950, gave Egypt control of Tiran and Sanafir, two islands located at the southern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea.
Under a 1979 Zionist-Egyptian so-called peace treaty, the two islands must be a demilitarized zone and have the presence of a force of multinational observers led by the United States.
Despite public protests in Egypt, a deal was approved by the Egyptian parliament in June 2017 and the country’s supreme court in March 2018 to transfer sovereignty back to Saudi Arabia. It also required the Zionist regime’s approval due to the terms of the 1979 Zionist -Egyptian so-called peace treaty.
The occupying regime gave its tacit approval, pending an Egyptian-Saudi agreement to allow U.S.-led multinational observers to continue their oversight of the islands while ensuring freedom of navigation for vessels en route to port city of Eilat in the Israeli-occupied territories. That agreement has been stuck for the past four years as final status issues have remained unresolved.
The Axios news website reported last week that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden was secretly mediating negotiations among Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Zionist regime to finalize the deal of transferring the islands.
The sources told Axios that the agreement is not complete and the sensitive negotiations are underway, adding that the White House, however, wants an agreement to be reached before Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East at the end of June, which could include a stop in Saudi Arabia.
The occupying regime of Israel and Saudi Arabia have for years been conducting covert talks on diplomatic, security and business affairs, with senior Zionist officials, mainly related to military issues, visiting the kingdom from time to time.