Assassination of Anwar Sadat arrest of numerous opposition figures. Though Sadat still maintained high levels of popularity in Egypt, it has been said that he was assassinated "at the peak" of his unpopularity. Earlier in his presidency, Islamists had benefited from the "rectification revolution" and the release from prison of activists jailed under Nasser but Sadat's Sinai treaty with Israel enraged Islamists, particularly the radical Egyptian Islamic Jihad. According to interviews and information gathered by journalist Lawrence Wright, the group was recruiting military officers and accumulating weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch "a complete overthrow of the existing order" in Egypt. Chief
Samir Kuntar The Zionists themselves define the Israeli as a soldier who is on leave for 11 months every year." In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV and Al-Jadid/New TV, which aired on 26 July 2008 (as translated by the MEMRI), Kuntar was asked how he viewed the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Kuntar stated that: "[The assassination of Sadat was] a most wonderful operation – to the point that all the prisoners cheered together when Sadat was assassinated. This man symbolized treason and apostasy. Ever since Camp David. … Look at the history – Camp David, the 1982 invasion,