In 1978, to jump start the stalled negotiations between Israel and Egypt, U.S President Carter invited the leaders of both countries to the Presidential retreat in Maryland, Camp David where Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were initially hostile towards one another. But President Carter was determined to end the 30-year war between the Middle East's two most powerful countries, which would be a big step towards defusing regional hostilities which had the potential to escalate into nuclear war.

After hours of tireless personal diplomacy from President Carter, two major agreements were made. The first was the outline of a peace pact, which called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Sinai and the restoration of Israel's right to use the Suez canal, which had been withheld since 1956. The second vaguely drew the plan for a general Middle Eastern agreement, which promised Israel's gradual concession of self-government to the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as the partial withdrawal of troops from these areas.

For their efforts towards peace, Sadat and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize and a formal treaty was signed in March 1979. But the treaty ignited riots in several capitals and the Arab League expelled Egypt and started an economic boycott. Israel also violated some of the stipulations of the treaty and in 1981, Sadat was assassinated and Begin started a new war.