Sinai II established a peaceful framework for Egyptian-Israeli territorial disputes and anchored both states to UN Resolution 338.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- September 4, 1975
- Signing location
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Sinai occupied by Israel since
- 1967
- UN Resolution upheld
- UN Resolution 338
- Parties to agreement
- Egypt and Israel
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Israel had occupied the Sinai Peninsula since the 1967 war, leaving Egypt seeking to reclaim the territory through diplomatic rather than military means. Prior ceasefire arrangements had not resolved the underlying territorial dispute, prompting renewed negotiations brokered in part by the United States.
On September 4, 1975, Egypt and Israel signed the Sinai Interim Agreement in Geneva, committing both nations to resolve conflicts by peaceful means, arranging a further Israeli withdrawal from parts of Sinai, and establishing a new UN buffer zone in the region.
The agreement reinforced Egypt's ties with the Western world and deepened Egyptian-Israeli-US diplomatic relations, but strained Egypt's standing within the Arab League, particularly with Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization, who viewed it as a unilateral concession.
Political Outcome
Egypt and Israel agreed to resolve disputes peacefully, with Israel withdrawing further from Sinai and a new UN buffer zone established, reinforcing commitment to UN Resolution 338.
Israeli military occupation of Sinai since 1967; unresolved territorial disputes between Egypt and Israel
Partial Israeli withdrawal from Sinai; strengthened Egypt-Israel-US diplomatic relations; Egypt distanced from Arab League hardliners