Suez Canal Company formed in 1858 by French Ferdinand de Lesseps to build the Suez Canal from 1859 to 1869, opening on 1869 to allow trade.
Baghdad Pact in 1955, created compromising Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq and the United Kingdom
Tripartite Declaration was a way for the US, France and the UK to limit the amount of arms sales in the Middle East, hopefully preventing an arms race.
Egypt was responsible for establishing multiple Palestinian fedayeen camps inside Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon.
Israel was willing to work with Egypt in direct negotiations in 1956, regardless of Egypt’s aggressive demand to resettle Palestinian refugees and the annexation of the southern half of Israel.
Nasser (leader of Egypt) built reputation of extreme anti-Zionism in attempt to unify and be the leader of the Arab states.
On July 26th, 1956, Nasser nationalized and purchased all assets of the Suez Canal Company, closed the canal to Israeli shipping, closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba.
Contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888 and most likely a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.
Different countries had different positions on what to do
Eden from Great Britain wanted war, though opposition parties cautioned that doing so without UN approval would not be supported.
Guy Mollet from France and the rest of the nation was eager for military action.
Eiseinhower from DC did not really care.
Canada didn’t care.
Australia kind of cared.
New Zealand cared.
Initial proposal would have allowed Egyptian “sovereignty” to be recognized while maintaining an international operation of the Canal. Nasser rejected.
British and French hungry for military intervention to solve potential Canal problems, despite Eisenhower’s disapproval.
Israel was interested in partaking in military conflicts.
Israel’s interest in war was weakening a hostile state. Egypt-held Gaza Strip (+ surrounding countries, via Egyptian supported Palestinian Fedayeen) was responsible for attacks injuring approximately 1,300 civilians.
Israel was also scared about Egypt’s large procurement of weapons, and feared they’d forged a secret alliance with Jordan and Syria.
Ben-Gurion’s “grand plan” involved Israel taking territory north into Lebanon, having the West Bank run as a semi-autonomous state attached to Israel, and having Iraq claim everything on the East Bank because Israel believe Jordan to be an unstable state. They also encouraged the taking of the Sinai Penisula.
The Protocol of Sèvres was agreed to by Israel, France and the UK.
On October 29th, Israel would invade the Sinai.
On October 30th, Anglo-French ultimatum to demand both sides withdraw from canal zone.
On October 31st, Britain and France would begin Revise.
Events
The Kafr Qasim massacre
Took place in Israeli Arab village of Kafr Qasim during the war, where Israel Border Police illegally killed Arab civilians returning from work during a curfew they were unaware of. 48 people died.
The border policemen who were involved in the shooting were trialed and jailed for 7-17 years.
All sentences were later reduced, with some of the convicted receiving presidential pardons.
Every convicted person was eventually released by November 1959.
International Reaction
Eisenhower was very upset with Israel/Britain/France, because the US could not reasonably oppose Soviet actions in Hungary while remaining silent on European plans to seize territory from Egypt.
300,000 protestors in Pakistan chanting anti-British slogans.
Syrian government blew up the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline to punish Iraq and Britain.
Saudi Arabia imposed a total oil embargo on Britain and France.
US calls for security council and UN meetings/resolutions
Resolution 997, a call for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all forces behind the armistice lines, an arms embargo and the reopening of the Suez Canal, which was currently blocked. Passes with a vote of 64-5
West Germany was furious with the US and supported France and Britain.
Israel originally wanted to maintain indefinite control over the Sinai, but was eventually forced out due to international pressure lead heavily by Eisenhower.
Outcome
November 6th, 1956 British announced a ceasefire.
Anglo-French Task Force was fully withdrawn by December 22nd, 1956.
Israeli forces were fully withdrawn from the Sinai and Gaza in March of 1957 after destroying and stealing Egyptian infrastructure and villages on the way out.
Eisenhower asked Congress for authorization to use military force and set aside $200 million to help Middle Eastern countries that desired aid from the US.
The Soviet Union was given all the credit due to nuclear sabre rattling from Nasser, though it was almost assuredly US diplomatic and financial pressure that brought the conflict to a swift end.
Jews had their civil liberties infringed upon in Egypt following the war, resulting in some 25,000 (almost half) of the Jewish population leaving Egypt.
Final summary
In 1956 Egyptian leader Nasser, driven by his desire to be neither a puppet to the US nor USSR, nationalized the Suez canal (in defiance of the Constantinople Convention of 1888) while simultaneously acquiring large amounts of weapons from the USSR. Worried that trade would be interrupted, Britain and France approached Israel, who was worried that the anti-Zionist Egypt was amassing a massive military, to devise a covert plan, the Protocol of Sèvres, in order to stage an Israeli military invasion that would be disrupted by Anglo-Franco forces, which would then give way to an international ownership of the Suez Canal. Despite military success by all three parties, intense international pressure, especially from the United States, pressure from revolting colonies, and intense domestic pressure at home, combined with nuclear sabre-rattling from the USSR, forced the Anglo-Franco forces to immediately withdraw, suffering an international humiliation. Israel would withdraw its forces sometime later, having re-established trade through the Straights of Tiran. Egypt, and namely, Nasser, would emerge feeling as though they had single-handedly defied European imperialistic aims, and saw itself as an emerging unaligned leader of the Arab World.