The Jewish State gives Riyadh -with certain guarantees- control of Tiran and Sanafir, in exchange for permission to fly over the Saudi sky. The objective is to shorten flight times with the countries of the Far East. The first step “of a longer and more gradual path” between the two countries.
Jerusalem () – Give up control of the islands in exchange for permission to fly over the airspace. In short, this is the core of the agreement that Israel and Saudi Arabia are about to sign to put an end to the dispute over the possession of some islands in the Red Sea. In the past, the possession of those same islands, in the hands of Egypt, had unleashed the protest of a part of the Egyptian population. The problem then ended up in the Cairo courts, backed in the streets by nationalists, “in defense” of territorial integrity and with accusations of violation of the Constitution.
According to Israel Hayom, the Israeli government agreed to transfer possession of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir – located at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba – from Egypt to Saudi Arabia during US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region, scheduled for mid-2020. month. In exchange, Riyadh should allow Israeli planes to fly over its sky, marking a new rapprochement between the Jewish state and the Gulf countries following the “Abraham Accords.”
In this way, the experts explain, it will be possible “to shorten the times in the connections between Israel and the Far East.”
The Israeli website i24 adds that, in exchange for approval, the Jewish state would have asked Riyadh for a series of guarantees, including freedom of military and civil navigation in the Strait of Tiran, obtaining the green light in this regard. On the contrary, the attempt to convince the Wahhabi kingdom to allow Muslim pilgrims to travel directly from Israel to Mecca has been rejected. “Saudi Arabia – some anonymous Israeli officials would have said – is not yet ready to take this step, which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have already done. It will take time, in a more conservative reality, and it is difficult for it to happen before the succession of King Salman to his son Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)”. However, this agreement is “historic” and can be considered a “first small step on a longer and more gradual path”.
In 2016 Tiran and Sanafir had been promised by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi during an official visit to Saudi Arabia, generating strong controversy in his country. In exchange, Riyadh was to provide a multi-billion dollar aid package to Cairo. The two islands in question, uninhabited and deserted, lack resources but have great strategic value as they are located in the route of anyone who wants to navigate the Red Sea in both directions.
The two islands were handed over by Saudi Arabia to Egypt and were later used as a weapon in the Arab-Israeli war to impede the navigation of Israeli ships. Israel occupied them together with the Sinai until the signing of the peace accords between Cairo and the Israelis, known as the Camp David accords. Article 5 of the agreements expressly states that the islands cannot host any military presence or be used to impede the free movement of ships.
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