Gaza Strip and nearly all the Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai operations were supplemented by an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt on November 5, giving the allies control of the northern sector of the Suez Canal. The war was halted by a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all occupying forces from Egyptian territory. The General Assembly also established a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to replace the allied troops on the Egyptian side of the borders in Suez, Sinai, and Gaza. By December 22 the last British and French troops had left Egypt. Israel, however, delayed withdrawal, insisting that it receive security guarantees against further Egyptian attack. After several additional UN resolutions calling for withdrawal and after pressure from the United States, Israel's forces left in March 1957. SIX-DAY WAR (1967) Relations between Israel and Egypt remained fairly stable in the following decade. The Suez Canal remained closed to Israeli shipping, the Arab boycott of Israel was maintained, and periodic border clashes occurred between Israel, Syria, and Jordan. However, UNEF prevented direct military encounters between Egypt and Israel. By 1967 the Arab confrontation states--Egypt, Syria, and Jordan--became impatient with the status quo, the propaganda war with Israel escalated, and border incidents increased dangerously. Tensions culminated in May when Egyptian forces were massed in Sinai, and Cairo ordered the UNEF to leave Sinai and Gaza. President Nasser also announced that the Gulf of Aqaba would be closed again to Israeli shipping. At the end of May, Egypt and Jordan signed a new defense pact placing Jordan's armed forces under Egyptian command. Efforts to de-escalate the crisis were of no avail. Israeli and Egyptian leaders visited the United States, but President Lyndon Johnson's attempts to persuade Western powers to guarantee free pas...
