Native name: Jazīrat Ṣanafir جزيرة صنافر | |
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 The island from space | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Red Sea |
| Coordinates | 27°55′48″N34°42′36″E / 27.93000°N 34.71000°E /27.93000; 34.71000 |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 33 km2 (13 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 49 m (161 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
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Sanafir Island (Arabic:جزيرة صنافر,romanized: Jazīrat Ṣanafir,[citation needed]pronounced[ɡeˈziːretsˤɑnɑˈfiːɾ]) is aSaudi island in theStraits of Tiran east ofTiran Island. Its area is about 33 km2 (13 sq mi) andit is located at the entrance to theStraits of Tiran, which separates theGulf of Aqaba from theRed Sea. The island is about 2.5 km fromTiran Island.[1] The island is characterized by floating coral reefs.[2]
The island was underEgyptian control in the past but reverted toSaudi Arabian sovereignty on 8 April 2016, after the completion of transfer procedures.[3] On 17 June 2017, Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi ratified the maritime demarcation agreement between the two countries.[4][5] It was adopted on maps and official documents on 17 August 2017 and approved by theEgyptian House of Representatives on 14 June 2017, which approved the transfer of the island and its neighbor to Saudi Arabia. TheUnited Nations was notified in accordance with the Charter of Article 102 of the provisions of subsidiarity and sovereignty relating to islands and maritime territory.[6]
The name comes fromCoptic ⲥⲉⲛⲛⲟⲩϥⲣⲓSanufri which itself comes fromEgyptians.t-n-nfr.t, "place of good profit".[7]
On 9 April 2016, the Egyptian government declared that Sanafir andTiran Islands fall within the territorial waters ofSaudi Arabia, as codified in the maritime border agreement signed with the government of Saudi Arabia on the previous day. However, the agreement had to be ratified by theParliament of Egypt.[8]
The proposed deal was quashed by an Egyptian judge,[9] and an Egyptian court gave its final ruling in January 2017, rejecting the deal and affirming Egyptian sovereignty over both islands, supported by much of the Egyptian public.[10] The proposed deal caused turmoil in Egyptian politics and across the country, erupting mass protests that accusedPresident Sisi of "selling" Egyptian land.[11]
On 14 June 2017, Egypt's House Committee on Defence and National Security unanimously approved the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia, and the plan was passed by the Egyptian Parliament later the same day.[12] The deal moves forward the idea of building theSaudi–Egypt Causeway.[13]
InWorld War II, the Egyptian forces on Tiran and Sanafir islands were part of the Egyptian troops protectingSuez Canal, according to Egypt's representative at the 659th UN security council meeting on 15 February 1954:[14]
60. A disparaging reference has been made in this Council to Egyptians being on the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir on the Red Sea, islands which had been occupied by Egyptians long before the Israel armed forces advanced to theGulf of Aqaba a few days after the signature of the Egyptian-Israel General Armistice Agreement. Here I feel bound to state that the records of the Second World War contain official evidence that Egyptian units had been using these two islands as part of the Egyptian defensive system during that war. Egyptian detachments on these two islands co-operated with the Egyptian air force and the naval units entrusted at the time with the task of protecting Allied shipping in theRed Sea against submarine attack. While Egyptian air force units were covering the coast for Allied shipping in theMediterranean, a force of 8,000 Egyptian troops undertook the defence of the entire length of the Suez Canal and its ports against continuous, hostile air attacks throughout the Second World War.
In the same meeting, Egypt's representative considered Tiran and Sanafir islands an integral part of the territory of Egypt, since they have been under Egypt's administration since 1906:[15]
132. The Israel representative spoke to us of the islands situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. He alleged that these islands had been suddenly occupied by Egypt. He read out a declaration of the Egyptian Government transmitted in a letter addressed to the United States Embassy at Cairo. Those islands were not suddenly occupied; they were occupied, may I point out, in 1906. At that time it had been found necessary to delimit the frontiers between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. With a view to this delimitation, Egypt, for technical reasons, proceeded to occupy the two islands. The occupation was the subject of discussions, exchanges of views and even letters between the Ottoman Empire and the Khedivial Government of Egypt. Consequently, there was no surprise. The islands have in fact been occupied since 1906, and it is an established fact that from that time on they have been under Egyptian administration.133. While it is true that after relations between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire were broken off these islands became exclusively Egyptian, and that another State was able to initiate discussions concerning the occupation of the two islands; the fact is that that State was Saudi Arabia. An agreement was concluded between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, confirming what I would call, not the annexation, but the occupation of these islands and, what is more important, the recognition that they form an integral part of the territory of Egypt.
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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