Though the Egyptian-Israeli peace deal of 1979 only led to a “cold peace,” it’s one of the most important events in the recent history of the Middle East.
The Israeli-Egyptian peace deal changed the entire geopolitical landscape of the region, has likely saved countless lives, and has held to this day — a minor miracle given the turmoil so prevalent in the Middle East.
For Israel, the advantage was clear: By removing the state of war with the most powerful Arab country, the threat of a combined Arab attack on multiple borders dissipated. Furthermore, it proved that peace between Israel and Arab states was and is possible, thus putting paid to the description of Israel as a warmongering nation that seeks conflict. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Israel’s Declaration of Independence includes the following paragraph:
We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.
After ignoring Israel’s call for peace and launching four major attempts to destroy Israel militarily in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973 (alongside constant terror attacks), Egypt became the first country to accept Israel’s standing offer for peace.
Geographic Background
Some geographic background is necessary to understand the story.
The Sinai Peninsula, a huge land mass of approximately 60,000 kilometers (23,000 square miles) sits between the Mediterranean Sea to the North and the Red Sea to the South. It served as the launching pad for Egyptian attacks against Israel between 1948 and 1967. Israel took control of the Sinai during the Six Day War of 1967 and held onto it despite suffering significant losses during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Related reading: The Six-Day War: A Concise Timeline
While Israel’s offer to make peace with its neighbors was longstanding, the conditions that led Egypt to reciprocate came about for a number of reasons. Firstly, while Egypt and the Arab states were unable to defeat Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Arab leaders were able to claim that the surprise attack and the significant casualties inflicted on the Israelis had restored a sense of honor that had been so damaged by the humiliation of the Six Day War.
Secondly, in the context of the Cold War, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat wished to break away from the orbit of the Soviet Union. Making peace with Israel would bring Egypt the benefits, particularly economic, of being part of the US-led western nations.
Related reading: The Yom Kippur War: A Turning Point
Israel had constructed settlements in the Sinai, including Yamit, which was home to 2,500 Israelis with plans to develop it into a city of 200,000 residents. Egypt accepted peace with Israel after Israel agreed to leave the Sinai, including uprooting all Israeli settlements in the Peninsula – an agreement which was formalized when Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty on the White House lawn on March 26, 1979.
Sixteen months earlier on November 20, 1977, Sadat came to Israel, the first Arab leader to do so, and spoke to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. While some Israelis were suspicious of Sadat’s motives, ultimately this brave gesture was greeted with enthusiasm by an Israeli public desperate for peace. Sadat’s visit was a significant psychological breakthrough for Israelis who had previously treated Egypt as their biggest enemy. This paved the way for negotiations between the two countries at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in September 1978.
Camp David Accords
The negotiations were difficult and it was only US President Jimmy Carter’s personal intervention and mediation that prevented the collapse of the talks as both sides threatened to walk out. Nonetheless, nearly two weeks of intense work led to the signing of the Camp David Accords. In essence, the Camp David Accords were an agreement to sign an Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty within three months that would include:
- Egyptian recognition of the State of Israel;
- Egyptian allowance for Israeli ships to pass freely through the Suez Canal;
- Israeli military and civilian withdrawal from the Sinai alongside an Egyptian agreement to keep the Sinai demilitarized;
- Cessation of State of War.
The Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty includes the “Agreed Activities Mechanism,” which allows the two sides to make changes to the prohibition of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai. Israel has allowed Egyptian troops into the Sinai out of the mutual security concern of radical Islamic terrorist groups creating a presence in that region.
The issue of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was also dealt with in part of the Accords known as “A Framework for Peace in the Middle East.” This proposed talks between Egypt, Israel, Jordan and representatives of the Palestinians with the aim of autonomy for the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This Framework became rendered irrelevant after the UN rejected it because it had not been agreed upon under UN auspices with PLO involvement and because it did not include a Palestinian right of return or national sovereignty.
The United States agreed to provide Egypt with $1.3 billion in annual aid, a factor which certainly encouraged Egypt to make peace and has also played a role in ensuring that Egypt keeps to the peace.
Normalization
The official “normalization” of relations between the two countries took place in January 1980 followed by each country sending ambassadors to the other and Egypt repealing its boycott laws against Israel in February, and flights between the two countries beginning in March. This was, however, a cold peace between governments and not the peoples of the two states, particularly ordinary Egyptians, many of whom still harbor negative feelings towards Israel. Thus, normal activities between friendly states involving trade, tourism and people-to-people relations are still awkward.
Israel fulfilled its obligation under the peace agreement to evacuate all Israelis from the Sinai – including removing people from their homes. Many left on their own and accepted compensation from the state. The largest of the Sinai’s many settlements, Yamit, was evacuated despite some of its residents and right-wing activists barricading themselves on rooftops on April 23, 1982.
Related reading: Does ‘Land for Peace’ Work?
The rest of the Arab world was furious with Egypt for making peace with Israel. Syrian President Hafez al-Assad cut off all ties with Egypt. (They were restored in 2005 under the rule of Bashar al-Asaad.) Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat went as far as saying: “Let them sign what they like. False peace will not last.” The Arab League suspended Egypt, a move which lasted until 1989, and moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. Most Arab countries recalled their ambassadors and cut off diplomatic ties with Egypt. And worst of all, on October 6, 1981, Sadat was assassinated by extremist Muslims for making peace with Israel.
The Treaty’s Legacy
The peace treaty between Israel and Egypt has endured through significant upheaval in Egypt, including a brief takeover by the radical Muslim Brotherhood in what most call a “cold peace.” Both countries have used the other as strategic partners and there have been no military battles between the two sides. Israel and Egypt have cooperated militarily in trying to prevent the takeover of Sinai by Islamist terror organizations while this mutual opposition to Islamist organizations has maintained the blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza by both Egypt and Israel.
The stability of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty has demonstrated to other Arab nations that Israel can be a reliable and credible partner for peace rather than a military threat. It also demonstrated that the Palestinian issue need not be a barrier or precondition for better ties between Israel and the Arab world. This was crucial in paving the way for a peace agreement with Jordan in 1994.
Since its inception, Israel has expressed its willingness to make peace with its Arab neighbors and to make great sacrifices, while insuring it own security, to do so. The Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty demonstrates this reality and gives hope that some day Israel and all of its neighbors can live side by side in peace.
