Anwar Sadat and Israel: from a comprehensive agreement between Israel and the Arab world to the Israel-Egypt peace accord, 1973–1979

This article examines the change in Sadat’s policy toward Israel in the years 1973–1979, from the aspiration for a comprehensive settlement between Israel and the Arab world to a separate peace treaty with Israel. The Yom Kippur war was intended to break the stalemate and improve Egypt’s position toward negotiation. After the war Sadat gradually moved to a policy of direct agreement with Israel, mediated by the United States, which began with the disengagement agreement and continued with the Sinai 2 agreement. Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem and the discussion at Camp David paved the way for the peace treaty signed in March 1979. Sadat ultimately preferred the return of Sinai to Egypt over a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and solution the Palestinian problem.