Menachem Begin (1913-1992) was an active member of Irgun, a violent group that fought for the establishment of a Jewish state before Israel's existence. Irgun was responsible for the death of 91 people when they blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, in time he rose to political prominence in Israel and became Israel's leader.
He was Prime Minister of Israel at the time of the Camp David Accords. He and the Egyptian leader, Anwar el-Sadat along with United States President Jimmy Carter, negotiated a peace treaty at Camp David. It was the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab neighbor. (Even though Egyptians are not literally Arabs, they are considered to be part of the Arab world.) The Sinai Peninsula, occupied since the Six Day War, was returned to Egypt. A future deal that was to include the West Bank never materialized.
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