March 26, 1979
Sixteen months after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem and Knesset address, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty is signed at the White House. Nearly 1,500 people attend the ceremony. Both Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Sadat give credit to President Jimmy Carter for his role in the negotiations. Carter hosted the leaders and their delegations at Camp David in September 1978, producing the Camp David Accords, and he engaged in shuttle diplomacy between Cairo and Jerusalem earlier in March to help ensure the negotiations came to fruition.
The centerpiece of the treaty is Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula over three years. In return for the Israeli withdrawal, Egypt agrees to recognize Israel and end the state of war between the countries, while establishing normal diplomatic relations. The treaty contains nine articles, a military annex, an annex dealing with the relations between the parties, and agreed minutes interpreting the main articles of the treaty. The treaty addresses issues such as the withdrawal schedule, exchange of ambassadors and security arrangements. Sadat and Begin discuss autonomy talks for the Palestinians in a letter to Carter.
In a separate Israel-U.S. memorandum of agreement, concluded on the same day, the United States spells out its commitments to Israel’s security in case the treaty is violated, namely the U.S. supply of military and economic aid to Israel.
