Suez Crisis (redirected from Suez Canal Crisis)

Suez Crisis

(1956) International crisis that arose when Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal after Western countries withdrew promised financial aid to build the Aswan High Dam. The French and British, who had controlling interests in the company that owned the canal, sent troops to occupy the canal zone. Their ally Israel seized the Sinai Peninsula. International opposition quickly forced the French and British out, and Israel withdrew in 1957. The incident led to the resignation of Britain's prime minister, Anthony Eden, and was widely perceived as heralding the end of Britain as a major international power. Nasser's prestige, by contrast, soared within the developing world. See also Arab-Israeli Wars.