CAIRO, April 29 -- U.S. President Donald Trump's recent call for toll-free access for American ships through Egypt's Suez Canal has sparked widespread criticism across Egypt, with legal scholars, political figures, and citizens condemning the demand as both legally unfounded and a threat to international norms.

In a Saturday post on Truth Social - the platform he predominantly owns - Trump insisted that U.S. military and commercial vessels should pass through the Suez and Panama canals without paying fees. He asserted that neither canal "would exist" without American involvement and said he had instructed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "take care of, and memorialize, this situation."

"Trump's proposals about international waterways c...