An American presidential getaway in Maryland, U.S. In the context of the Arab-
Israeli conflict, two significant events took place at Camp David, often referred to as Camp David I and Camp David II. At Camp David I (September 1978), Egyptian President
Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin reached a bilateral agreement, with assistance and pressure from American President Jimmy Carter. The agreement stipulated that
Israel would return the
Sinai Peninsula in exchange for recognition from and peace with Egypt, thereby establishing a precedent for "land-for-peace" negotiations. In addition, the agreement called for talks between Israel, Jordan, Egypt and
Palestinian representatives to create a framework for negotiations regarding the status of the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip. This element of the agreement was never implemented. Camp David II refers to meetings between
Palestinian Authority President
Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak and American President Bill Clinton in the summer of 2000 over "final status" issues of the Oslo Process, such as the settlements,
Jerusalem, Palestinian statehood, the rights of Palestinian refugees, water, and final borders. Negotiations broke down and no agreement was reached. The collapse of the talks is commonly seen as being a major factor in the outbreak of the
Second Intifada, which occurred soon thereafter. For more on Camp David I, see "
Carter's Greatest Legacy: The Camp David Negotiations," Betty Glad, PBS. For more on Camp David II, see "
Camp David: The Tragedy of Errors," Robert Malley and Hussein Agha, New York Review of Books, Aug 9 2001.