Egypt and Suez Canal Essay

Submitted By TheMightyZeus
Words: 561
Pages: 3

How far do you agree that the Suez Crisis was a victory for Israel? Explain your answer.
The Suez Crisis which occurred in 1956 was the first significant victory over the Arabs after the 1948 war. Although Israel managed to achieve its objectives, it did not represent a complete victory for Israel. Therefore, we need to examine the short term effects and long term consequences of the victory.
The Suez Crisis was a victory as Israel won British and French support to invade Egypt to deal with Nasser’s aggressive attitude. Israel secured an agreement with The British and French secretly to create a condition that would bring about the invasion of Egypt. Such an agreement wouldn’t be possible if Nasser was not hostile towards the Westerners.
The Suez Crisis was a victory because Israel was able to gain freer passage for its ships to transport goods to Israel. The UN troops guard the passage of Israeli shipping through the Straits of Tiran to prevent any raids or attacks on Israel, thus helping Israel to ship goods in and win the Suez Crisis.
It was a victory because Israel gained greater security for its borders, helping defend against attacks. UN troops guarded the border to help defend from Nasser’s constant raids and attacks. This helped Israel to secure the Suez Canal and lead them to a victory against Nasser and to win the Suez Crisis.
It was also a victory because Israel humiliated Nasser and his position as leader of the Arab world was weakened. He initially lost Sinai within a few days, as the British and French took it with ease. However the world opinion soon turned against Britain and France.
After supporting the question, I will now challenge the question.
The Suez Crisis was to be a diplomatic disaster for Israel and her Western allies because her international image suffered. Israel’s ‘secret conspiracy’ was exposed and world opinion turned against Israel, as well as Britain and France. This prevented Israel from achieving a military victory over the Egyptians in the crisis.
The Suez Crisis was a failure as Israeli, British and French were forced to withdraw by UN’s ceasefire on November