1956 US Condemns Britain, France and Israel

Following the War of Independence, the British, Americans and French, by mutual agreement, did not supply either the Israelis or the Arabs with significant quantities of armaments. In October, 1955, Egypt signed an arms deal with Czechoslovakia which provided it with significant armaments. The arms deal, combined with continued Fedayeen raids in southern Israel, convinced Israeli leaders that steps would have to be taken to alleviate the situation, before Egyptian forces were able to achieve strategic dominance.

On July 26th, 1956, President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. Therefore, the British and French -- who had already been selling Israel advanced weapons -- had a significant motive for cooperating with Israel's attack on Nasser.

On October 29th, 1956, Israeli forces attacked Egyptian forces in the Sinai. Israeli forces rapidly defeated Egyptian forces, losing just 180 men, inflicting over 1,000 fatalities, and capturing over 6,000 Egyptian prisoners of war. The Israeli forces halted 10 miles short of the canal, allowing the British and French troops to intervene to protect the canal. Sustained American pressure forced Israel to withdraw from the Sinai and Gaza Strip. In return, the Straits of Tiran were opened for Israeli shipping, and a UN force was placed in the Sinai and Gaza Strip as a buffer.

The same joint American pressure forced the British and French to withdraw. This marked the effective end of independent British-French power.