The presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was the setting for a historic moment in September, 1978. With the help of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the leaders of Egypt and Israel reached agreements that would end a 30-year state of war between their countries.
Israel was created by the United Nations in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people. But Arab countries, including Egypt, denied its right to exist. Arab armies attacked, but the outnumbered Israelis threw them back. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel gained control of the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. All peace efforts failed.
Then, in 1978, Carter invited Egyptian Premier Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin to Camp David to restart a stalled round of talks. After 12 days, two accords were reached. One was a plan for the return of the Sinai to Egypt and for peace between the countries. The second called for self-rule for the Palestinian Arabs in other Israeli-occupied territories.
A treaty based on the first accord was signed in March, 1979. Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize the first Arab country to recognize Israel. Because the second accord involved Arabs who did not agree to it, it was not carried out at that time.