The Camp David Negotiations

A Direct Initiative after Repeated Wars

The Camp David negotiations followed decades of war between Israel and Arab states and failed attempts to turn ceasefires into a comprehensive peace. Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem in November 1977 changed the diplomatic setting by engaging Israeli leaders directly. Yet the visit did not resolve disagreements about occupied territory, security, recognition, or the Palestinians. The United States returned to an intensive mediating role as Egypt and Israel struggled to convert the opening into terms each government would accept. [1] [2]

President Jimmy Carter brought Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin to Camp David from 5 to 17 September 1978. When meetings among all three leaders became unproductive, Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance dealt separately with the Egyptian and Israeli delegations. They carried proposals between rooms and worked through successive revisions. [1]

The Work Behind the Frameworks

Assistant Secretary of State Harold Saunders prepared a draft connecting a treaty to normal relations, security arrangements, withdrawal, and a process for addressing the Palestinians’ future. A timetable for removing troops could be written into a bilateral agreement; the final status of the West Bank and Gaza also involved people and governments outside the summit. [3]

Two frameworks emerged on 17 September. One set a course toward a treaty between Egypt and Israel, including Israeli withdrawal from Sinai, restoration of Egyptian sovereignty, limits on forces, and normal diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations. The other proposed a broader process, including transitional self-government for the West Bank and Gaza and negotiations involving Jordan and Palestinian representatives. Palestinians had not participated in the summit, and their political future remained open. [2]

From Summit Agreement to a Peace Treaty

Talks on a treaty stalled over withdrawal, security, and the relationship between a bilateral peace and Egypt’s other obligations. Carter intervened again in March 1979, traveling to the region and securing additional compromises. Egypt and Israel signed their peace treaty in Washington on 26 March. [1]

The bilateral treaty did not produce the wider settlement envisioned at Camp David. Subsequent Palestinian autonomy talks failed to bridge differences over self-government, settlements, and territory. [1] [2]

Related Reading

• Egypt and the United States
• Israel and the United States
• Arab Republic of Egypt
• State of Israel