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In a hushed and tense silence — marked more by unease than tranquility — Wednesday marks the 46th anniversary of the historic peace agreements between Israel and Egypt. There will be no ceremonies to commemorate the event, and yet, how can one forget the thrill of that November day in 1977, when the first Egyptian plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport? Moments later, the world watched in awe as President Anwar Sadat descended the plane’s steps.
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President Anwar Sadat, President Jimmy Carter and Prime Minister Menachem Begin
(Photo: AP)
At the time, IDF Chief of Staff Motta Gur, stood among the dignitaries, warning the delegation awaiting at the plane’s entrance of a potential Egyptian ruse. Gur was convinced that, instead of the Egyptian president, what awaited was a bomb intended to eliminate Israel’s top leadership. Suspicion ran high. Sadat’s outreach, which followed secret meetings in Morocco between Moshe Dayan and Hassan Tohami, a shadowy advisor to the Egyptian president, was viewed with deep mistrust.
Within Israel’s Ministry of Defense, Sadat’s visit was perceived as a ploy ahead of war. Just four days before the historic arrival, Chief of Staff Gur secluded himself with senior IDF officials and declared the need to ready the emergency depots for imminent conflict.
Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, however, saw things differently. He optimistically described Sadat’s peace initiative as a “grand historic move.” When Sadat finally stepped off the plane, he wasted no time approaching Gur, mockingly remarking: “Here I am.”
In the 46 years since that groundbreaking visit, much has transpired in the delicate, often turbulent relationship between the two nations. Israel withdrew from Sinai, and for a brief two years peace soared to unprecedented heights. In Egypt, millions of jubilant citizens lined the streets of Cairo to welcome Sadat upon his return.
Before embarking on his historic visit to Jerusalem, Sadat made a stop in Damascus to meet with then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, inviting him to join the peace initiative. One of Sadat’s advisors later revealed that there had been a Syrian plan to detain Sadat in Damascus and “purge the absurd idea of visiting Israel from his mind.” Three years later, Sadat took his Syrian counterpart on an aerial tour of Sinai, teasingly pointing out, “You could have regained the Golan Heights from Israel, had you only come to Jerusalem as I did.”
What haven’t we experienced in these 46 years of peace? Grand promises of normalization, many of which faltered, yet managed to yield modest agricultural collaborations and gas trade agreements. In November 1996, a diplomatic scandal erupted when Israeli citizen Azzam Azzam was imprisoned in Egypt on grave espionage charges. Years later, upon his release, Azzam was honored with the ceremonial lighting of a torch in Jerusalem. Over time, however, opposition to the peace agreements grew louder in Egypt, to the point where, today, one would struggle to hear a single voice in support of Israel or peace across the country.
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From Egypt’s perspective, Israel failed to meet its expectations of leveraging the peace treaty to secure broader agreements with other Arab states. Egypt envisioned peace deals with the Palestinians, Lebanon, and even Syria, alongside the Jordanian treaty, which was signed without Egyptian involvement or influence.
During this period, Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor loomed as a persistent source of tension. I recall an evening in Tel Aviv when Prime Minister Shimon Peres urged his Egyptian counterpart, Mustafa Khalil, to extend his stay and tour Israel. Khalil, to the amusement of his delegation, quipped, “I’d love to stay, provided you arrange a tour of the Dimona reactor for me.”
Normalization quickly became a contentious term. Civil relations between the countries deteriorated and, after the tragic murder of three tourists and a businessman in Alexandria two years ago, Egypt ceased issuing entry visas to Israeli passport holders.
Even the Aswan Dam, a vital source of drinking water for 115 million Egyptians, found itself in the crosshairs. Avigdor Lieberman once labeled the dam a strategic threat, calling for its destruction — a statement that is still not forgotten in Egypt. And let us not overlook the Israeli strike on Iraq’s nuclear reactor, carried out just two days after the Begin-Sadat meeting. The timing left an ominous impression, with whispers suggesting that Israel might have shared details of the operation with Egypt.
The First Lebanon War, launched just two months after Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai, and the Second Lebanon War, further strained the fragile peace. While Egypt hoped for progress toward broader regional peace, Israel’s military actions — such as the invasion of Beirut and the expulsion of the PLO leadership — seemed, in Egyptian eyes, to affirm that Israel had signed the peace treaty with Egypt merely to secure freedom of action in the Arab world.
I have not visited Egypt in two years. Though I correspond with friends in Cairo, nothing compares to seeing things firsthand. When I proposed a visit, I was required to provide the name of a senior Egyptian official who would accompany me during my stay, which was to last less than 48 hours. The official agreed, but then another condition emerged: two Egyptian security agents would shadow me throughout the visit.
For at least two years, there has been no direct communication between Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office and the Egyptian presidential palace. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi receives regular updates on negotiations concerning the return of hostages, but direct dialogue is conspicuously absent. Israeli security officials come and go, often followed by senior Hamas representatives from Qatar.
It’s an open secret that Egypt harbors no affection for Hamas or Islamic Jihad, yet it persists in its role as mediator. Egypt has a vested interest in maintaining calm in Gaza, as well as critical interests in the Sinai Peninsula.
If I were advising Netanyahu, I would urge him to pick up the phone and call Sisi to congratulate him on the 46th anniversary of the peace accords. It would be wise to rise above the bitterness, set aside grievances, and initiate a conversation. After all, 46 years have passed, and this peace — whether cold or lukewarm — has endured. That is no small feat and deserves to be acknowledged.