The Camp David Accords are two agreements signed by the Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat on September 17 1978.
The President of United States, Jimmy Cater was present during the negotiations and witnessed the signing. Both countries intended to gain from the positive relationship following the agreement. An analysis of the relationship between the two countries since then points at Israel having conceded more than it gained (Gawrych G. W. 1986).The peace talks had started before the time of signing but an agreement had not been reached.
They took a turn for the better when Sadat visited Israel thus acknowledging it. Egypt was branded a traitor by other Arab countries but its economy was failing and it needed assistance that Israel was in a position to give. Israel on the other hand wanted to improve relations with its Arab neighbors and Egypt provided an entry point towards that end.The first agreement: A Framework for peace in the Middle East focused more on issues to do with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
It also dealt with the issue of Israel and its Arab neighbors. The second agreement: A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel led to the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces and 4500 civilians from Sinai. Egypt was to allow passage through the Suez Canal and other waterways to Israel.Also, the number of Egyptian forces was to be reduced in the Sinai Peninsula. Free passage from Jordan to Egypt was allowed by Israel. Israel lost the Abu-Rudeis, the only oil wells capable of producing for commercial purposes when it gave up the Sinai Peninsula (Ben-Ami 2006).
Although Israel relinquished control over the entire Sinai Peninsula, the Arab world was not satisfied over the Palestinian issue. This led to immense pressure on Egypt emanating from the Arab countries.This led to Egyptians honoring the treaty as a formality but putting no effort to advance friendly relations to the Israelites which is what they had joined the agreement to get. Most Egyptians currently view Israel as an enemy (Quandt W.
B 1988). It leads to the conclusion that Israel lost a lot in order to have friendly relations with Egypt and in the long run with its Arab neighbors but this has not been realized hence they sacrificed a lot but their dream has not yet been realized.
