The Camp David Accords of 1978 with Israel and Egypt resulted in the signing of the the first ever peace treaty by Israel with another Arab nation. The reason for not having any treaties before this time, despite thirty years of turmoil between Israel and its Arab neighbors, is simple. Arab nations hate Israel and refused to even talk to Israel. It was not until Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was smart enough to look past the hatred and focus on the economic well being of the Middle East, that a peace treaty was finally negotiated and signed on March 26, 1979.
Israel made the far greater sacrifice in giving up the Sinai peninsula where Israel was producing oil from the Sinai oil fields. Especially when factoring in today's price for oil. Prime Minister Menachem Begin was criticized severely even by conservative Israeli's for making this and other concessions to secure peace on Israeli's southern border. Prime Minister Begin understood correctly that not having to worry about having to defend its southern border was well worth the cost of the Israeli Sinai concessions.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was considered by other Arab countries, and even some in his own country, as a trader for signing the treaty with Israel and was eventually assassinated two years after signing. Upon Sadat's death all Arab countries voted against honoring the treaty. To its credit, Egypt has stood by the peace treaty.
With the recent overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak the world is cheering the rise of a democratic style of government in Egypt. The great concern for future stability in the Middle East will be how does the new Egyptian government view the 1979 peace treaty? If the commitments of the treaty are no longer honored by Egypt, look for many years of instability and rising tensions in the Middle East, with the price of crude rising higher with the inevitable turmoil.
