An Egyptian court has upheld an agreement to 
give control of two islands in the Red Sea to 
Saudi Arabia, providing a boost for the government.
The appeals court in Cairo upheld on Saturday a verdict
 by a lower court that annulled a ruling by the 
administrative court, which had said the agreement
 to hand over the islands was void, judicial sources said.
Last week, the Egyptian government approved
 the deal to hand over the islands and sent it to
 parliament for ratification, despite the legal dispute 
over the plan.
The territorial deal, announced in April, caused public
 uproar among many Egyptians who said the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir belonged to their country.
The administrative court had said the agreement
 violated Egypt's constitution, which prohibits giving 
away any part of Egyptian territory to another country.
A more senior tribunal, the higher administrative court, 
is due to issue a verdict on January 16.
Tiran and Sanafir are in the narrow entrance to the Gulf
 of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel.
Saudi and Egyptian officials say the islands belong to 
Saudi Arabia and were only under Egyptian control 
because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.
Many Egyptians reject the government argument,
 accusing it of selling part of their homeland.
Lawyers who oppose the handover say Cairo's
 sovereignty over the islands dates to a 1906 treaty, 
before Saudi Arabia was founded.
Saudi Arabia has provided billions of dollars of aid to
 Egypt but recently halted fuel shipments.