47 % of Egyptians assert Egypt's sovereignty over Tiran and Sanfir islands : Baseera

The poll came in the wake of the massive controversy that erupted over the Parliament's discussion of the Red Sea islands agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The Parliament is now discussing the maritime demarcation deal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed in 2016, which stipulates the transfer of sovereignty over the Red Sea islands to Saudi authorities. The agreement passed with 35 lawmakers for and eight against, member of parliament Mostafa Bakry told AFP.

The agreement, they added, must now be debated by parliament's defense and national security committee before it can be put to a general vote in the assembly.

Egypt's government says the islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Saudi but were placed in Egyptian custody in the 1950s for protection against a possible Israeli attack.

The planned transfer of the islands sparked the biggest protests of el-Sissi's presidency when the agreement was announced in April 2016.

Opponents of the agreement insist the islands are Egyptian and argue that the accord violates the constitution, which bars the surrender of any territory. Critics say parliament, which is packed with his supporters, is defying a final court ruling that struck down the transfer in January.

The agreement was announced during a high-profile visit to Cairo in April 2016 by Saudi King Salman during which the monarch announced a multibillion dollar package of investments and soft loans to Egypt.

Following the Egyptian government's declaration of the maritime demarcation deal signed with Saudi Arabia in 2016, prominent lawyer Khalid Ali adopted an opposing stance against the deal.

The announcement of the deal brought rare but angry protests to the streets of Cairo with Egyptians describing the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir as a "sell out" by Sisi.