The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Ashraf Farahat, ordered the necessity of an objective executive judicial ruling, dropping the causes of Judgment No. In January, Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court rejected an Egyptian government appeal, declaring the transfer of the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia as void. The verdict, which was announced to be final and can no longer be appealed, confirmed that Egypt cannot legally transfer the Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. In 1949, Saudi Arabia allowed Egypt to occupy the two islands “for defensive purposes” following the establishment of the Israeli state. Egypt proceeded to block passage through the Strait of Tiran, Israel’s only maritime passage from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Red Sea.

Source: Egypt Independent March 19, 2017 14:26 UTC