A Brief Guide for the Perplexed 19
But every other Arab country , except Oman , Somalia , and Sudan , severed diplomatic ties with Cairo to protest the move . And , in 1981 , the Egyptian leader was assassinated by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad , who would later become brothers-in-arms of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network .
For its part , Israel yielded the vast expanse of the Sinai ( approximately 23,000 square miles , or more than twice the size of Israel proper ), which had provided a critical strategic buffer zone between itself and Egypt . Israel also gave up valuable oil fields which it had discovered in the Sinai , a big sacrifice for a country with no other natural resources to speak of at the time . ( Thirtyfive years later , Israel discovered major natural gas resources in its territorial waters .) It closed important air force bases that had been constructed . And , despite Begin ’ s staunch commitment to settlements , it flattened these enclaves in Sinai .
In doing so , Israel demonstrated its unquenchable thirst for peace , its willingness to take substantial risks and make sacrifices , and its scrupulous commitment to fulfilling the terms of its agreements . When else in modern history has a country victorious in a war for its very survival relinquished so much land and other tangible strategic assets in pursuit of peace ?
Israel and Jordan reached an historic peace agreement in 1994 .
This was a much easier negotiation than with Egypt , since Israel and Jordan already enjoyed good , if quiet , ties based on overlapping national interests vis-à-vis the Palestinians . ( The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was just as fearful of Palestinian territorial ambitions as Israel , as more than half of Jordan ’ s population is of Palestinian Arab origin .) Israel once again demonstrated its deep yearning for peace and readiness to take the steps necessary to achieve it , including border adjustments and water-sharing arrangements called for by Amman .
Spurred by the examples of , first , Egypt and , later , Jordan ,