minister Menachem Begin and other leaders. Within two years,
Sadat, Begin, and U.S. president Jimmy Carter concluded
an extraordinary agreement called the Camp David Accords
(because it was negotiated at the U.S. presidential retreat at
Camp David, Maryland). It was the first “land for peace” deal
between Israel and an Arab neighbor, meaning Israel gave back
some of the Arab land it had occupied in 1967 in exchange for
peaceful relations with the Arab country. In this case, Israel
gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt. There were handsome
financial rewards for Sadat’s peacemaking. Egypt now once
again controlled its Sinai oilfields and the potential tourism
development sites along the Sinai coasts. The United States
began giving Egypt about $2 billion in aid every year. This U.S.
contribution continues today and ranks second only to Israel’s
annual aid package of about $3 billion. Egypt had now become
a firmly pro-Western, “moderate” Arab country.