Jimmy Carter at Camp David

This photograph shows President Jimmy Carter on the phone at Camp David. Carter had invited Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, the secluded presidential retreat in Maryland, to negotiate a peace settlement. He served as mediator.

After 12 days of negotiation, Begin and Sadat signed the Camp David Accords on September 17, 1978. The two 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 next evening, President Carter addressed a joint session of Congress to explain the agreements and to reiterate active U.S. support for a continuing peace process.