Suez Crisis imperilled US-British ties 50 years ago
The West knows it as 'the Suez Crisis' or, more commonly, 'Operation Musketeer'; the Israelis call it 'Operation Kadesh,' and to the Arab states it is simply the 'Tripartite Aggression.'
However it is called, it divided the West, pitting Britain and France against the United States, and for a moment imperilled the 'special relationship' between London and Washington forged during World War II by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
It began at 4.59 p.m. on October 29, 1956 when the red light above the door of Israeli transport aircraft changed to green and 395 paratroopers from Israel's 202 paratroop brigade, led by a young officer named Ariel Sharon, dropped on the Mitla Pass in the western Sinai.
Around the same time, Israeli armoured columns began thrusting into the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip and into the peninsula.
Britain and France immediately offered to separate the warring Israelis and Egyptians by reoccupying the area.
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However it is called, it divided the West, pitting Britain and France against the United States, and for a moment imperilled the 'special relationship' between London and Washington forged during World War II by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
It began at 4.59 p.m. on October 29, 1956 when the red light above the door of Israeli transport aircraft changed to green and 395 paratroopers from Israel's 202 paratroop brigade, led by a young officer named Ariel Sharon, dropped on the Mitla Pass in the western Sinai.
Around the same time, Israeli armoured columns began thrusting into the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip and into the peninsula.
Britain and France immediately offered to separate the warring Israelis and Egyptians by reoccupying the area.