Suez Canal crisis

1. A major international incident that arose in 1956 from the decision by Gamal A. Nasser of Egypt (see also Egypt ) to nationalize the Suez Canal , which long had been controlled by Great Britain . After Nasser took over the canal, Britain and France induced Israel to provoke a conflict with Egypt that would serve as a pretext for an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt. The United States, which had been excluded from the planned invasion, denounced it. The incident severely damaged Anglo-American relations.