Venice Declaration - Aftermath

Aftermath

In 1981, there were clashes between offshoot groups of the PLO and Israelis. They formed a cease-fire, but that raised complications because it suggested that the Israelis accepted the PLO. Israel became threatened by the fact that the Palestinians and the PLO were officially recognized, which contributed to a more heightened tensions. When Sadat was in Washington, D.C. in 1981, he suggested that Israel and the PLO participate in peace talks, but Begin rejected his suggestion. Furthermore, the Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia wanted to “scrap the Camp David Agreements, have Israel withdraw from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, and the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem”. Egypt wanted to preserve the Camp David Agreement. The United States treated the Venice Declaration and its aftermath carefully; they were committed to Camp David, but did not want to come into conflict with the Saudis.