On This Day 36 Years Ago: The Signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty

In 1978, after more than a year of diplomatic efforts, the Camp David Accords were signed, establishing a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel. Egypt had been in a state of declared war with Israel since 1948, punctuated by several short but violent conflicts, including the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance laid the groundwork to get representatives from Egypt and Israel to meet and discuss conditions for ending hostilities and normalizing diplomatic relations. Israel agreed to withdraw its troops from the Sinai Peninsula, and Egypt agreed to officially recognize Israel as a nation. The Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty was signed in a ceremony at the White House on March 26, 1979, and the three leaders—Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin—joined hands and shared big smiles. Sadat and Begin were awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their work. A couple of years later, President Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists from Egypt, angered by his dealings with Israel. The treaty has held for 36 years, despite continued regional tension, the Arab Spring, and turmoil in the leadership of Egypt.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen.

Most Recent

  • Juan Carlos Vindas / Getty

    For Earth Day, a Photo Appreciation of Birds

    A handful of images of the tens of billions of individual animals divided among some 10,000 species, inhabiting nearly every environment on Earth

  • AFP / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Burning Bull, Blue Forest, Olympic Flame

    Eid al-Fitr prayers in India, trophy winners at the Boston Marathon, the burning of a historic building in Denmark, a joyous water festival in Thailand, and much more

  • Adem Altan / Agence France-Presse

    Winners of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest

    Some of the winning and honored entries in this year’s annual photo competition

  • Hulton Archive / Getty

    The Bicycles of World War II

    Images of some of the many ways people put bicycles to use during the Second World War