Today in History: Israeli – Egyptian peace agreement signed
Seven months after the Camp Davids Accords were signed, a formal peace treaty was signed.
On this day in 1979, in a ceremony at the White House, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed a historic peace agreement, ending three decades of hostilities between Egypt and Israel.
Less than two years earlier, in an unprecedented move for an Arab leader, Sadat travelled to Jerusalem, Israel, to seek a permanent peace settlement with Egypt’s Jewish neighbour after decades of conflict. Sadat’s visit, in which he met with Begin and spoke before Israel’s parliament, was met with outrage in most of the Arab world.
Despite criticism from Egypt’s regional allies, Sadat continued to pursue peace with Begin, and in September 1978 the two leaders met again in the United States, where they negotiated an agreement with US President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland. The Camp David Accords, the first peace agreement between the state of Israel and one of its Arab neighbours, laid the groundwork for diplomatic and commercial relations.
For their achievement, Sadat and Begin were jointly awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace. Sadat’s peace efforts were not so highly acclaimed in the Arab world – Egypt was suspended from the Arab League, and on 6 October 1981, Muslim extremists assassinated Sadat in Cairo. Nevertheless, the peace process continued without Sadat, and in 1982 Egypt formally established diplomatic relations with Israel.
Information courtesy of: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/israel-egyptian-peace-agreement-signed.
