Camp David Accords

Lexicon of Terms

Signing the Camp David Accords in the White House with President Carter, Begin and Sadat, September 17, 1978.

Camp David Accords

The Camp David Accords provided a framework for peace in the Middle East, and were signed on September 17th 1978 by US President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin. The Israeli delegation to the talks included Begin, Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Defense Minister Ezer Weizman. The Camp David Summit, which was closed for media coverage, was held after a deadlock of several months in the peace process.

Two agreements were signed in Camp David. The first – "A Framework for Peace in the Middle East" – found the UN’s Security Council’s Resolutions 242 and 338 to be the legal basis for peace. Another part of it dealt with the West Bank and Gaza Strip and called for adapting autonomy into these territories, replaced with a permanent arrangement after five years; the latter also discussed the normalization between the two states and established that similar agreements will be signed between Israel and Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The second agreement – "A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel" – was based on complete withdrawal of Israel from the Sinai Peninsula "up to the internationally recognized border between Egypt and mandated Palestine," followed by normalization between the states, including mutual recognition and formation of diplomatic, economic and cultural relations.

Egypt was instrumental in tying both agreements together so that no allegations will be made on that it is working towards a peace process without attending to the Palestinian issue (though Egypt worked towards a separate agreement with Israel). Israel’s main goal was to seem as if not willing to withdraw from Judea, Samaria and Gaza Strip, but these agreements were the first recognition that the final agreement "must also recognize the legitimate right of the Palestinian peoples and their just requirements." Israel was also willing to accept Jordanian involvement in the transition period of the autonomy given to these territories.

The Agreements were accompanied by letters on the status of Jerusalem. Begin declared in these letters that Jerusalem will not be divided and will remain the capital of Israel, while Sadat proclaimed that Arab Jerusalem is an integral part of the West Bank and should be returned to Arab sovereignty. Carter later confirmed that Begin informed him that Israel sees similarity between the terms "Palestinians" and "Palestinian People" with "Eretz Yisrael Arabs."

The Camp David Accords were ratified by the Knesset on September 27th 1978; 84 Members of the Knesset (including most members of the Alignment) voted in favor and 13 objected (including Moshe Arens of the Likud and Shlomo Hillel of the Alignment), since the agreements obligated Israel to withdraw from Sinai; 17 Members of the Knesset abstained (including Yitzhak Shamir of the Likud and Yigal Allon of the Alignment).