Peace in the Middle East seems like a utopian fantasy. But there are true examples of lasting success. The best by far is the Camp David Accords. They were signed at the White House in 1978 by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter. It laid the groundwork, after 3 long decades of wars, for a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt that lasts to this day. The largely forgotten accords, were fleshed out during 13 days of intensive negotiations, lead by President Carter, at the Camp David Presidential Retreat in Maryland. The final peace agreement – the first ever between Israel and an Arab neighbor – was then signed at the White House.
This seems unimaginable today given the powder keg that continues in the Middle East. A state of war had basically existed between Israel and Egypt since Israel’s formation in 1948. Jews had achieved an independent homeland, but the Arab world surrounding it claimed that same land for a Palestinian state. Three wars followed – the 1948 Arab Israeli War, the 1967 Six Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In them, Israel successfully defended itself and in fact expanded its territory by occupying the Sinai Peninsula.
By the late 1970’s, Anwar Sadat had enough of wars. He wanted to finally make peace AND recover the Sinai. But after Israel’s victories in the wars, they had little reason to include Sinai in any peace terms. Menachem Begin, the new conservative Israeli Prime Minister, appeared immovable on the very idea of exchanging land for peace.
By 1977, Sadat, frustrated by the lack of movement made a dramatic announcement. He said that he would be willing to go to Jerusalem! Begin complied, inviting Sadat to visit Israel. There Sadat historically spoke before the Israeli Knesset – the 1st time ever for an Arab leader! Sadat then invited Begin to Egypt, who reciprocated with a trip to Cairo. These 2 visits led to direct talks, but unfortunately, much like today, not much came of them.
Then along came U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
From the start of his presidency, Carter pursued intensive negotiations with both Israel and Egypt to achieve peace once and for all. During the summer of 1978, Carter attempted to find common ground. He realized that without direct U.S. mediation, the two sides would simply go on arguing, blaming each, or worse still, fighting. Carter ignored party advice to stay out of the Middle East and chose instead to commit the U.S. to trilateral negotiations.
Jimmy Carter decided the solution was to call for a Summit with the two leaders, but not just any summit. He invited Begin and Sadat to the Presidential Retreat at Camp David. This meeting would bring Sadat, Begin, and Carter together at the secluded retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. They both agreed!
It was a huge risk and daring act for Carter to stick himself into the hornet’s nest of the Middle East. He placed both his presidential capital and political future on the line for a summit that most likely would fail. Carter decided it would be best, win or lose, to go all out, in an all-or-nothing high stakes gamble on peace.
So in September 1978, Jimmy Carter welcomed Sadat and Begin to the forested retreat in the middle of nowhere, away from the public’s and press’s eyes. Here, peace accords would be hammered out under the direction of President Carter himself. He preferred informal diplomacy and felt it best to shield them all from public and media scrutiny. Camp David allowed for a more relaxed atmosphere for negotiations.
The Camp David Summit, lasted 13 days from September 5–17th, 1978.
Rarely had a U.S. President devoted as much attention to a single foreign policy issue as Jimmy Carter did. The core issues centered around Egypt demanding the Sinai back and the creation of an independent Palestinian homeland on the West Bank. In turn, Israel insisted Egypt remove its troops from its border and allow for Israeli access to the Suez Canal.
As the first 3 days ran on, the talks melted down, especially when both leaders sat in the same room. The debates were often heated between Begin and Sadat. They broke down into shouting matches and fist shaking while Carter played the role of mediator. It turned out the two leaders did not like each other on a personal level, let alone a political one.
So instead, Carter and his Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, decided to meet with each delegation separately over the course of the next 10 days, acting as go-betweens. This was exhausting, but Carter was tireless, and with his perpetual smile and optimism, shuttled back and forth between the 2 delegations. He often rode a bicycle between the cabins of the 2 heads of state.
Each Middle East leader threatened to walk out on numerous occasions.
President Carter played the role of strategist, mediator, ally, and even therapist. He effectively used the promise of American aid to both sides as leverage to induce flexibility AND accept concessions. For 13 days, Carter did something unprecedented, he set aside his other presidential duties to work exclusively on Middle East peace. And it worked!
Carter wisely separated the Sinai issue from the Palestinian issue, resulting in 2 agreements. The first was ‘A Framework for Peace in the Middle East Agreed at Camp David.’ It stated that Israel would evacuate the Sinai in exchange for full access to the Suez Canal. In exchange, Egypt would greatly reduce its military activities on the southern Israeli border.
The second agreement was the ‘Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel.’ This one was to discuss the future of the West Bank and Gaza, and the creation of a future Palestinian state. The CAMP DAVID ACCORDS were signed in the East Room of the White House on national TV on September 17, 1978.
The Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty was formally signed 6 months later on March 1979 on the South Lawn of the White House . Sadat and Begin shared the Nobel Peace Prize that same year. The treaty ended the state of war between the two countries and established full diplomatic and commercial relations that lasts to this day!
Peace between Egypt and Israel was a truly historic accomplishment that wouldn’t have been achieved without the tireless efforts of U.S. President Carter, Jimmy Carter. He accomplished something that had eluded the Middle East diplomats for 3 decades and the 4 decades since. He himself received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. The sustainable Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty has remained unmatched by subsequent administrations around the world ever since.
Sadly, there has not been similar Middle East peace ever since. Wars routinely erupt in the decades since between Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Yemen and various Islamic extremist groups. That includes the Iran, Afghanistan, and two Iraqi wars with the U.S. Ceasefires, but not lasting peace, end the conflicts. Hatred and hostilities linger, sometimes across generations, until war inevitably breaks out again. Add to that the complexity of global oil and gas supplies in the Middle East, and the impacts of war are felt worldwide.