Editing Suez Canal (section)

=== Suez Crisis ===
{{Main|Suez Crisis|Closure of the Suez Canal (1956–1957)}}
[[File:Port Said from air.jpg|thumb|left|Smoke rises from oil tanks beside the Suez Canal hit during the initial [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Anglo-French assault]] on [[Port Said]], 5 November 1956.]]

In 1951 Egypt repudiated the 1936 treaty with Great Britain. In October 1954 the UK tentatively agreed to remove its troops from the Canal Zone. Because of Egyptian overtures towards the [[Soviet Union]], both the United Kingdom and the United States withdrew their pledge to financially support construction of the [[Aswan Dam]]. Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] responded by [[nationalization|nationalising]] the canal on 26&nbsp;July&nbsp;1956<ref>{{cite web|title=The Suez Canal formally opened to ships|url=http://stratscope.com/the-suez-canal-formally-opened-to-ships/|website=stratscope.com|publisher=StratScope|access-date=19 May 2017|archive-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920064136/http://stratscope.com/the-suez-canal-formally-opened-to-ships/|url-status=live}}</ref> and transferring it to the [[Suez Canal Authority]], intending to finance the dam project using revenue from the canal. On the same day that the canal was nationalised Nasser also closed the [[Straits of Tiran]] to all Israeli ships.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_2701000/2701603.stm|title=1956: Egypt seizes Suez Canal|date=26 July 1956|work=BBC News|access-date=17 December 2015|archive-date=17 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317034109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_2701000/2701603.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> This led to the [[Suez Crisis]] in which the UK, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. According to the pre-agreed war plans under the [[Protocol of Sèvres]], Israel invaded the [[Sinai Peninsula]] on 29&nbsp;October, forcing Egypt to engage them militarily, and allowing the [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Anglo-French]] partnership to declare the resultant fighting a threat to stability in the Middle East and enter the war – officially to separate the two forces but in reality to regain the Canal and bring down the Nasser government.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Dean Memorandum |url=https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2006/december/dean.htm |website=The National Archives |publisher=Government of UK |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=7 December 2016 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20161207014859/https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2006/december/dean.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rhodes James |first=Robert |title=Excerpt from 'Anthony Eden: A Biography' |url=https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2006/december/fco-73-205-1.htm |website=The National Archives |publisher=Government of UK |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=7 December 2016 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20161207034157/https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2006/december/fco-73-205-1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Shlaim |first=Avi |title=The Protocol of Sèvres, 1956: Anatomy of a War Plot |journal=International Affairs |date=1997 |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=509–530 |doi=10.2307/2624270 |jstor=2624270 |url=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0005/The%20Protocol%20of%20Sevres%201956%20Anatomy%20of%20a%20War%20Plot.html |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=5 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405191936/http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ssfc0005/The%20Protocol%20of%20Sevres%201956%20Anatomy%20of%20a%20War%20Plot.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

To save the British from what he thought was a disastrous action and to stop the war from a possible escalation, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs [[Lester B. Pearson]] proposed the creation of the first United Nations peacekeeping force to ensure access to the canal for all and an Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. On 4&nbsp;November&nbsp;1956, a majority at the United Nations voted for Pearson's peacekeeping resolution, which [[Mandate (international law)|mandated]] the UN peacekeepers to stay in Sinai unless both Egypt and Israel agreed to their withdrawal. The United States backed this proposal by putting pressure on the British government through the selling of [[Pound sterling|sterling]], which would cause it to depreciate. Britain then called a ceasefire, and later agreed to withdraw its troops by the end of the year. Pearson was later awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]]. As a result of damage and ships sunk under orders from Nasser [[Closure of the Suez Canal (1956–1957)|the canal was closed]] from November&nbsp;1956 to April&nbsp;1957, when it was cleared with UN assistance.<ref>''The Other Side of Suez'' (documentary) – 2003</ref> A UN force ([[United Nations Emergency Force|UNEF]]) was established to maintain the free navigability of the canal, and peace in the Sinai Peninsula.