The Egyptian parliament's Support Egypt bloc issued a statement on Wednesday praising its members for supporting the deal to hand over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, according to the maritime border demarcation agreement signed by Egypt and the Gulf kingdom in April 2016.

On Tuesday, members of the bloc in the legislative and constitutional affairs committee voted in favour of the deal during a committee vote.

The committee approved the deal, with 35 out of 43 members voting in favour, passing it to a vote in the general assembly after heated sessions that began on Sunday.

According to the bloc, the parliamentary administration was keen to hear different points of view, including views opposing the deal.

Parliament will vote on the deal in a plenary session tomorrow or next week.

The Support Egypt bloc praised its members for passing the deal despite "threats" and "blackmail attempts" but did not clarify the nature of those threats or attempts. 

The largest bloc in parliament, Support Egypt praised both parliamentary administration and the cabinet for providing its members with the necessary maps and documents to inform their decision.

The statement added that unecessary documents and maps were disregarded as "they were intended to extend the discussion."

The bloc also criticised "some members," without giving names, of attempting to sabotage the sessions and force their points of view on others. Support Egypt accused the members of the 25-30 bloc of attacking the experts in "an unacceptable way."

The members of 25-30 bloc have already declared their complete rejection of the deal and of parliament's authority to discuss or decide on this issue.