Ya'alon: Israel signed off on Egypt-Saudi deal over islands
Defense
minister says military appendix in Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty had to be
reopened to include the Saudis; Jerusalem also agreed to allow
construction of bridge connecting Saudi and Egypt.
Defense
Minister Moshe Ya'alon admitted Tuesday that Israel has signed off on
Egypt's move to concede control over strategic islands in the Tiran
Straits to Saudi Arabia.
The islands of Tiran and Sanafir, located at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, will be formally demarcated as being in Saudi waters under a treaty announced on Saturday by Cairo, which has had de facto control over them since 1950. In return for sovereignty over the Red Sea islands, Saudi will provide Egypt with $16 billion in aid.
Ya'alon said the military appendix in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty had to be reopened as a result of the agreement over the islands, which are located some 200 kilometers south of Eilat.
The United States also signed off on the inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the appendix, as a representative of the international peacekeeping force deployed to the Sinai Peninsula as part of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
The islands of Tiran and Sanafir, located at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, will be formally demarcated as being in Saudi waters under a treaty announced on Saturday by Cairo, which has had de facto control over them since 1950. In return for sovereignty over the Red Sea islands, Saudi will provide Egypt with $16 billion in aid.
Ya'alon said the military appendix in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty had to be reopened as a result of the agreement over the islands, which are located some 200 kilometers south of Eilat.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Photo: Shaul Golan)
The United States also signed off on the inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the appendix, as a representative of the international peacekeeping force deployed to the Sinai Peninsula as part of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
