The Camp David Accords were a series of agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin following nearly two weeks of secret negotiations at Camp David, the historic country retreat of the president of the United States. President Jimmy Carter brought the two sides together, and the accords were signed on September 17, 1978. The landmark agreement stabilized the fractious relations between Israel and Egypt, though the long-term impact of the Camp David Accords remains up for debate.
The ultimate goal of the Camp David Accords was to establish a framework for peace in the Middle East by formalizing Arab recognition of Israel’s right to exist, developing a procedure for the withdrawal of Israeli forces and citizens from the so-called “Occupied Territories” of the West Bank (which would enable the establishment of a Palestinian state there) and taking steps to safeguard Israel’s security.
Egypt and Israel had been engaged in various military and diplomatic conflicts since the establishment of Israel in 1948, and tensions had been particularly high after the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
