Two days before this picture was taken, on September 17, 1978, Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt signed the Camp David Accords following 12 days of negotiation. U.S. President Jimmy Carter served as the mediator, having invited the leaders to Camp David, the secluded presidential retreat in Maryland.
These documents established a framework for peace in the Middle East and a framework for the conclusion of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Within the outline of these agreements, the two signatory countries would work out other issues leading to a peace treaty and later would involve other neighboring countries. The following day, President Carter addressed a joint session of Congress to explain the agreements and to reiterate active U.S. support for a continuing peace process.
