Israel, Egypt celebrate 40th anniversary of peace agreement

Israel and Egypt celebrated on Tuesday the 40th anniversary of the joint peace agreement reached in 1979 known as the Camp David Accords, Shehab.ps reported.

“The best to serve peace in the Middle East is learning from our past experiences,” the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Khalid Azmi said. “The peace agreement is considered an important example of the mechanism of talks in the Middle East.”

The ambassador added: “Using any means [to achieve peace], Arab and Israeli interests must be maintained.”

He continued: “Egypt has been the pioneering power in the Middle East to take the path of peace. Our vision has been based on establishing a full and national state to be safe for all.”

Also, he said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had wasted resources and undermined the life of the Middle East residents for decades.

READ: Egypt detains prominent opposition leader over alleged anti-government plot

Meanwhile, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said: “The peace deal was signed between Israel and Egypt just six years after a horrific war between the two countries that took place in 1973. It was impossible to imagine that our leaders would have shaken hands within years.”

He added: “The [peace] deal is considered a source of revelation for our ongoing efforts to achieve peace with our Palestinian neighbours.”

Rivlin thanked the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi “whose commitment guaranteed peace, stability, cooperation and strong relations.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said: “The current challenge today is changing peace between the two countries to warm relationship between the two nations. This is the right time to do so.”

On 26 March 1979, Egypt and Israel announced signing Camp David peace agreement as to the first such agreement between an Arab state and Israel.