18 Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
nearest to Jerusalem and other areas adjacent to the 1967 line , are certain to be retained by Israel in any peace accord . Importantly , the 1967 border was never an internationally recognized boundary , but rather only an armistice line marking the positions held at the end of Israel ’ s War of Independence in 1949 .
At the same time , it is important to bear in mind that , for the sake of peace with Egypt , Israel removed all settlements in the Sinai Peninsula , and , in withdrawing from Gaza , Israel forcibly uprooted 10,000 settlers and dismantled their communities .
The United States recognized a critically important fact about final borders when President George W . Bush wrote to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon , on April 14 , 2004 , that “ it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of the final-status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949 .”
Peace with Egypt
In 1977 , Menachem Begin , Israel ’ s first Likud prime minister , took office . That did not stop Egypt ’ s President Anwar Sadat from making his historic trip to Israel the same year and addressing the Knesset , Israel ’ s parliament . An extraordinary peace process ensued , with all the ups and downs that come with a difficult set of negotiations . In September 1978 , the Camp David Accords were adopted , containing a framework for comprehensive peace , including a proposal for limited self-government for the Palestinians . ( The proposal was rejected by the Palestinians .) Six months later , a peace accord was signed , and the thirty-one-year state of war between Israel and Egypt came to an end .
It was a remarkable moment in history . Sadat , virulently anti- Israel and antisemitic for much of his life , and the mastermind of Egypt ’ s surprise attack ( together with Syria ) on Israel that ignited the 1973 Yom Kippur War , teamed up with Begin , the head of Israel ’ s leading right-wing party , to open a new chapter in Arab- Israel relations . It proved that , with will , courage , and vision , anything was possible .