Editing Suez Crisis (section)

=== Ceasefire ===
[[File:1957-02-14 Tel Aviv Israel.ogv|thumbtime=0:12|thumb|Israelis protesting against the UN order to evacuate Gaza and Sinai, 14 February 1957]]

Because the British government faced political and economic pressure, the Prime Minister, [[Anthony Eden]], announced a cease fire on 6 November, warning neither France nor Israel beforehand. Troops were still in Port Said and on operational manoeuvres when the order came from London. Port Said had been overrun, and the military assessment was that the Suez Canal could have been completely taken within 24 hours.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trueman |first=C N |date=25 May 2015 |title=The Suez Crisis of 1956 |url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/the-suez-crisis-of-1956 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=The History Learning Site |language=en-GB}}</ref> Eisenhower initially agreed to meet with Eden and Mollet to resolve their differences, but then cancelled the proposed meeting after Secretary of State Dulles advised him it risked inflaming the Middle Eastern situation further.<ref name="qjmed.oxfordjournals.org">{{Cite journal |last=Owen |first=CH |date=6 May 2005 |title=The effect of Prime Minister Anthony Eden's illness on his decision-making during the Suez crisis |url=http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/98/6/387.full |url-status=bot: unknown |journal=QJM: An International Journal of Medicine |volume=98 |issue=6 |pages=387–402 |doi=10.1093/qjmed/hci071 |issn=1460-2393 |pmid=15879438 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114034940/http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/98/6/387.full |archive-date=14 November 2011 |access-date=6 May 2021 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Eisenhower was not in favour of an immediate withdrawal of British, French and Israeli troops until the US ambassador to the United Nations, [[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.]] pushed for it. Eden's predecessor [[Winston Churchill]] commented on 22 November, "I cannot understand why our troops were halted. To go so far and not go on was madness."<ref>{{Harvnb|Alteras|1993|p=243}}</ref> Churchill further added that while he might not have dared to begin the military operation, nevertheless once having ordered it he would certainly not have dared to stop it before it had achieved its objective. Without further guarantee, the Anglo-French Task Force had to finish withdrawing by 22 December 1956, to be replaced by Danish and Colombian units of the UNEF.<ref>[http://www.ecpad.fr/ecpa/PagesDyn/result.asp?reportageid=1012 Service Cinématographique des Armées SCA reportage de Paul Corcuff, 22 December 1956] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206002311/http://www.ecpad.fr/ecpa/PagesDyn/result.asp?reportageid=1012 |date=6 December 2008}} French Ministry of Defense archives ECPAD MO56141AR14</ref>

The Israelis refused to host any UN force on Israeli-controlled territory and withdrew from the Sinai and Gaza in March 1957. Before the withdrawal the Israeli forces systematically destroyed infrastructure in the Sinai peninsula such as roads, railways and telephone lines, and all houses in the villages of [[Abu Ageila]] and El Quseima.<ref name="Chomsk">{{Cite book |last=Chomsky |first=Noam |url=https://archive.org/details/fatefultriangleu00chom |title=The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians |date=1983 |publisher=[[South End Press]] |isbn=978-0-8960-8187-1 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/fatefultriangleu00chom/page/194 194] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Before the railway was destroyed, Israeli troops confiscated [[Egyptian National Railways]] equipment including six locomotives<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cotterell |first=Paul |title=The Railways of Palestine and Israel |date=1984 |publisher=Tourret Publishing |isbn=978-0-9058-7804-1 |pages=100–101}}</ref> and a 30-ton [[Crane (railroad)#Breakdown cranes|breakdown crane]] for use by [[Israel Railways]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gallery |url=http://www.rail.co.il/EN/Fun/Museum/Pages/gallery.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619041704/http://rail.co.il/EN/Fun/Museum/Pages/gallery.aspx |archive-date=19 June 2012 |access-date=25 May 2011 |website=Fun |publisher=Israel Railways |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The UNEF was formed by forces from countries that were not part of the major alliances, [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]]. [[Canadian Armed Forces]] troops participated in later years, since Canada had spearheaded the idea of a neutral force. By 24 April 1957, the canal was fully reopened to shipping.<ref name="ucsb">{{Cite web |date=14 January 1958 |title=Message to the Congress Transmitting the 11th Annual Report on United States Participation in the United Nations |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=11356 |access-date=5 March 2009 |publisher=University of California Santa Barbara}}</ref><ref name="usatoday">{{Cite news |date=28 August 2001 |title=Suez crisis, 1956 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/mideast/timeline.htm |access-date=5 March 2009 |work=The Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1947–present}}</ref>