Arab–Israel War (1956)

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ARAB–ISRAEL WAR (1956)

a war that lasted from 29 october to 6 november 1956, waged by britain, france, and israel against egypt.

Although Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser's accession to power in 1952 was initially viewed as a positive development by Israel and the West, his leadership of Arab nationalism and his growing military and political strength were viewed with apprehension by Great Britain, France, and Israel.

Preparations for War

Nasser's nonalignment policies, including recognition of the People's Republic of China and opposition to a Western-sponsored alliance in the Middle East, were seen as threats to British and French hegemony in the region. The French were alarmed at Egyptian support of Algerian (FLN) nationalists; the Israelis, by Egypt's support of Palestinian guerrillas located in the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian blockade of Elat and the Gulf of Aqaba. Egypt's formation of a joint command with Syria and Jordan, and increased Fidaʾiyyun incursions from Gaza into Israel, were seen as signs that Egypt was preparing for war. In February 1955 Israel retaliated with a full-scale attack on military bases in Gaza; this prompted Egypt to negotiate an arms deal with the Soviet Union for the purchase of weapons from Czechoslovakia.

When the United States, angered by Egypt's growing ties with the Soviet Union, cancelled negotiations for a development loan to construct a new Nile dam at Aswan, Great Britain and the World Bank also cancelled loan negotiations. Nasser retaliated on 26 July 1956 by nationalizing the Suez Canal Company, in which the British government held the majority of shares. The headquarters and many shareholders of the company were in France. Both Great Britain and France regarded Egypt's action as reason for war.

Throughout the summer of 1956 Israel, England, and France planned for war along parallel but independent lines. Israel negotiated with France for arms and developed operations to open the Strait of Tiran to Israeli shipping (Operation Kadesh). The British moved ships to Cyprus and to Malta with the aim of seizing the canal and bringing down Nasser (Operation Musketeer). The French then made overtures to the Israelis for joint planning and participation in the operation against Egypt; exploratory meetings began in early September. In October (22–24), at the invitation of the French, David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres, and Moshe Dayan met with French prime minister Guy Mollet and British foreign minister Selwyn Lloyd at Sèvres to plan the joint campaign, in which Israeli forces were to cross the Sinai and link up with the British and the French in the area of Port Saʿid. It was understood that the Anglo-French intervention would be seen as an "impartial"; separation of combatants and that Israel would be able to withdraw its troops if England and France did not carry out their military missions. The allies relied on the assumption that the Soviet Union (involved in Poland and in Hungary) and the United States (in the midst of presidential elections) would be too busy to interfere. Tensions on the Israeli-Jordanian border gave the impression that Israel was preparing to invade Jordan rather than Egypt.

As British and French troops were massing on Cyprus and Malta in August, Nasser anticipated an attack on Egypt and redeployed much of the Egyptian Sinai garrison to the delta region, leaving only 30,000 men in the northeast triangle of al-Arish, Rafah, and Abu Aqayla under the eastern command of Major General Ali Amr, headquartered at Ismaʿiliyya. The troops consisted of one Egyptian division and one poorly trained and lightly armed Palestinian division commanded by Egyptian officers and supported by field artillery and antitank guns, three squadrons of Sherman tanks, and a motorized border patrol. In addition, Amr commanded two infantry divisions and an armored division just west of the canal that could be used in the Sinai. The garrison at Sharm al-Shaykh was directly under the control of headquarters at Cairo. Of Egypt's 255 aircraft, only 130 were operational. Despite intelligence reports of Israeli mobilization, Amr did not return to Egypt from an official visit to Syria and Jordan until the morning of 29 October.

By the evening of 28 October, Israel had mobilized 45,000 men assigned to the southern command and six brigades held in reserve in the north. Israel's objective was to threaten the canal by securing the Mitla Pass (30 miles from the canal) and to achieve the flexibility either to advance—if the British and French carried out their part of the agreement—or to withdraw if necessary.

Outbreak of War

On 29 October Israeli parachutists landed east of the Mitla Pass and encountered heavy Egyptian resistance. This action was followed by a high-speed mobile column dash that met up with the Israelis at the pass. The next day, the British and the French issued an ultimatum calling for the withdrawal of forces from both sides of the canal in order to allow their troops to establish themselves along its length. Israel accepted, but Nasser rejected the ultimatum and began to issue orders for an Egyptian withdrawal from the Sinai to the delta. The British and the French vetoed UN-sponsored cease-fire resolutions. They began air attacks on Egypt on 31 October. Nasser subsequently sank all ships in the Suez Canal (4 November) in order to block passage. By 2 November Israel had taken Abu Aqayla and opened up a supply route to the Mitla Pass, cutting the Egyptians off from Gaza. On 5 November Sharm al-Shaykh was taken and Israeli troops reached the canal. Speed and mechanized transport, combined with tank warfare and air superiority, enabled the Israelis to outmaneuver the Egyptian forces sent to defend Sinai, who had no air cover for their troops due to the destruction of more than two hundred aircraft on the ground.

The British, anticipating heavy opposition by the Egyptian forces, set sail from Malta only on 1 November, delaying their landing in Egypt. The delay permitted the buildup of negative reactions to the mission both at home and in the international community. The allies tried to speed up the process, landing paratroops at Port Saʿid on 5 November and taking the city on the next day just as hostilities ceased.

By then, both the United States and the Soviet Union threatened to intervene, and the newly reelected U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered a global alert of U.S. armed forces. The British, in the midst of the biggest crisis in Anglo-American relations since World War II, fearful of Soviet intervention, and worried about the falling pound sterling (later shored up by a line of credit from the U.S. Export-Import Bank), accepted a cease-fire. France and Israel followed suit.

Aftermath

During the fighting Israel lost about 190 soldiers: an additional 20 were captured and 800 wounded. Egyptian casualties were several thousand killed and wounded and about 4,000 taken prisoner by Israel. Egypt also lost massive amounts of military equipment.

On 4 December United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) troops moved into Sinai, and on 22 December Britain and France withdrew from Egypt. Israeli troops withdrew from the Gaza Strip and the Strait of Tiran on 7 and 8 March under heavy pressure from the United States and following the stationing of UN troops at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba and assurances from the United States that it would uphold the right of innocent passage of Israeli and all other shipping through international waters. The last Israeli forces left Sinai in January 1957; they evacuated Gaza and Sharm al-Shaykh in March 1957. Although Nasser did not acknowledge Israel's right of passage through Egyptian waters, he allowed UNEF forces to remain in Sinai until 1967.

The war marked the end of an active British role in the region and its replacement by U.S. influence. It resulted in the development of modern armed forces in Israel, the beginnings of large-scale U.S. support for Israel, and the emergence of Nasser as victor and hero not only of the Arab region but the Third World as well.

see also arab–israel conflict; nasser, gamal abdel.