Less than five years after ending a bloody war, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat met at the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David in 1978.

Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel had occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Penninsula, both former Egyptian territories. Starting in 1971, President Sadat of Egypt had been working to reclaim the Sinai and expel Israel. When repeated negotiations failed, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated attack on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. When the bloody war was over, Egyptian forces had been driven back over the Suez Canal. But both sides appeared to be hurt in the war.

After several years of stalemate, Sadat and the conservative government of Menachem Begin opened peace negotiations. Iin a historic move, Sadat visited Israel and addressed the Knesset in 1977. Six weeks later, Begin traveled to the Egyptian city of Ismailia. These diplomatic overtures combined with lower-level talks led to a two-week conference at Camp David, overseen by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Within the text of the Camp David agreement, the two nations recognized that the recent visits combined with "the peace proposals made by both leaders, as well as the warm reception of these missions by the peoples of both countries, have created an unprecedented opportunity for peace which must not be lost if this generation and future generations are to be spared the tragedies of war."

What emerged was the first peace accord signed by Israel and one of its Arab neighbors. Egypt regained control of the Sinai, although Israel maintained the Gaza Strip. In return, Egypt recognized Israel's right to exist and guaranteed most of its forces would stay more than 50 kilometers from the Israeli border.

The impact of accord was immediate. Most Arab nations boycotted Egypt, but U.S. foreign aid now flowed to both Israel and Egypt. Peace came at a price. Less than three years after the talks, Islamic extremists assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981.

However the groundwork for later peace negotiations was laid, and two nations who before saw only mutual hatred began to visualize what a possible peace arrangement in the region might look like.