High defence
spending severely damaged the Egyptian economy and in 1977 President
Anwar
Sadat decided
to obtain a peace settlement with Israel.
He announced the Sadat Initiative and
offered to go to Jerusalem and plead the Arab cause before the Knesset.
This offer was accepted and Sadat visited Israel to meet Menachem
Begin (19th
- 21st November).
Although
criticised by the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) and the governments of Syria, Libya and Algeria, Sadat had discussions
with Begin at Leeds Castle and Camp David. In September 1978, with
the support of Jimmy
Carter,
the president of the United States, Sadat and
Begin signed a peace treaty between the two countries. As a result
both men shared the Nobel Peace Prize in
1978.
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