In the long history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Camp David Accords set the framework for future peace in the Middle East. Following twelve days of secret talks and negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and US President Jimmy Carter, the Camp David Accords were signed on September 17, 1978 at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. Although initially the accords led to the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty on March 26, 1979, they were unsuccessful in bringing long-term peace between Israel and other Arab countries in the region.
Egypt and Israel maintained a state of war since 1948 when Israel had declared its independence and the founding of the State of Israel, which did not bring any benefit to Egypt. Later on, in 1967 during the Six Day War, although initially Egypt embargoed Israeli shipping by closing the Straits of Tiran and unifying forces with Jordan, Syria and Iraq to establish a large armed force in the Israeli border, Israel attacked back capturing the Gaza strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, Egypt lost again to Israel realizing there was no way to eliminate the opponent through outright war. It was then that Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat preferred the road of diplomacy to solve the problem, unlike other Arab countries that continued being at a state of war with Israel.
On January 20, 1977, US President Carter proceeded with a comprehensive, bilateral approach to revitalize the peace process in the Middle East. Carter's new approach appealed to the reconvening of the 1973 Geneva Conference that had initially failed to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the absence of representation of the Palestinians by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This time, President Carter hoped that the Conference would be held with a Palestinian delegation in the hope of negotiating a final settlement. However, this remained a pure aspiration.
President Carter visited the Arab leaders on whom he would have to lay his hopes for peace settlements in the Middle East. Although his meetings with Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat, King Hussein of Jordan, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin were successful, President Carter feared reactions. Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia that had allied with Egypt and Syria as well as other Arab nations such as Libya and Lebanon would possibly react to the US efforts of getting Egypt to make peace with Israel. Under the threat of terrorist attacks against Egypt, NATO armies were prepared fro war. Israel had to withdraw its military forces from all fronts, including the West Bank. Besides, the political situation in Israel changed abruptly with the long-ruling labor Alignment losing the elections to Menachem Begin's center-right Likud in May 1977.
On November 19-21, 1977, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat paid a first-time visit to Jerusalem to address the Israeli Knesset (the legislative branch of the Israeli government) and initiate peace talks between Egypt and Israel. That was the first visit of an Arab leader to Israel and for his effort Sadat was named 'Man of the Year' by Time Magazine in 1977.
The Camp David Accords were, in effect, two accords that provided the basis for the continuation of the peace negotiations: a 'Framework for Peace in the Middle East' and a 'Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel.'
The 'Framework for Peace in the Middle East' summarized principles for a comprehensive peace settlement with a focus on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Apart from specified areas where Israel was allowed to maintain forces to ensure its security, it had to withdraw its military government from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank so that the residents of these areas could elect autonomous authorities within a five-year period. Besides, Egypt and Israel, along with Jordan and 'representatives of the Palestinian people' should participate in negotiations to reach a firm solution to the issues of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Israel-Jordan relations and Israel's right to exist within secure and acknowledged borders.
The 'Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel' dealt with Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula and the institution of peaceful relations between Israel and Egypt within a period of three months. Israel agreed on withdrawing from the Sinai Peninsula within three years and dismantling its air bases in the Gulf of Aqaba and the town of Yamit. Egypt agreed on having full diplomatic relations with Israel and allowing Israel passage through the Suez Canal, the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba.
The Egyptian side approved the frameworks on September 19. For Egypt the relation between the two accords was crucial because it feared that other Arab countries might view an Egypt-Israel peace agreement as a betrayal of the Palestinians. The Israeli side approved the accords on September 28.
For their efforts to solve the problem of the long-lasting conflict between Egypt and Israel, Anwar El Sadat and Menachem Begin received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.
The Camp David Accords had major implications on the politics of Middle East. First of all, the perception of Egypt within the Arab world changed dramatically leading to its suspension from the Arab league in the period 1979-1989. Secondly, the accords, in essence split up the united Arab front. The Palestinian issue became the central issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict, yet Egypt did not push Israel enough for a firm solution. Finally, possibly the biggest of all implications is the psychology of all parties involved in the Camp David Accords. Sadat, Begin and Carter managed to show to the rest of the world, but mostly to the other Arab nations that negotiations with Israel were possible and that solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict would be feasible only through continued efforts of communication and cooperation.
Apart from the two main frameworks, the agreement also led to the United States subsidizing several billion dollars to both governments in the form of grants and aid packages committed to purchasing US supplies in military and commercial supply chain management. According to the US Department of State, it is estimated that in the period between 1979 and 1997, Egypt has received $1.3billion per year as military aid, beyond any sort of economic or humanitarian aid that totals more than $25 billion. Similarly, Israel has received $3 billion per year since 1985 as military aid and grants.