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Palestine
Egypt and Israel made peace, Palestinian Arabs continued their struggle for nationhood. Under the UN partition plan of 1947, there were supposed to be two states in Palestine—a Jewish state and an Arab state. After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, however, the land set aside for the Arab state was occupied by Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. -
Six Day War
Egypt began to close off the Gulf of Aqaba, Israel’s route to the Red Sea. Expecting a large-scale Arab attack, Israel decided to strike first. Israel launched air strikes against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, destroying most of their airplanes on the ground. Israeli ground troops then moved in and rapidly defeated Arab forces. In this war, called the Six-Day War Israel gained control of land with a large Palestininan population. -
Yom Kippur War
Determined to win their territory back after the six day war, Egypt and Syria launched the Yom Kippur War, a surprise attack against Israel in 1973. The war takes its name from the Jewish holy day when the attack began. -
Intifada
The First Intifada or First Palestinian Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.During the intifada, Palestinian youths battled Israeli troops in widespread street violence. Israel responded with strong military and police resistance, but the fighting continued until the early 1990s. -
Camp David Accords
To help facilitate this historic peace, U.S. president Jimmy Carter invited Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. There, in 1978, Sadat and Begin reached an agreement known as the Camp David Accords.Egypt recognized Israel, and Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. The treaty ended 30 years of hostility between Egypt and Israel.
