Protocol of Sèvres

Protocol of Sèvres
Name	Protocol of Sèvres
Date	1956 (secret meetings in October 1956)
Location	Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Participants	Anthony Eden, Guy Mollet, David Ben-Gurion, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gamal Abdel Nasser
Outcome	Secret agreement coordinating Israel invasion and United Kingdom and France intervention in Suez Crisis

Protocol of Sèvres The Protocol of Sèvres was a secret 1956 accord reached during meetings near Sèvres that coordinated actions by Israel, the United Kingdom, and France in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. The meetings involved senior figures from the British Cabinet, the French Fourth Republic, and the Israeli government, and set a timetable that preceded the Suez Crisis and the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt. The revelations about the protocol influenced debates at the United Nations General Assembly, shaped the policy of the United States Department of State, and affected relations among NATO allies.

Background and context

In 1956, tensions among Egypt, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom escalated after Nasser announced nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, provoking a crisis that involved the Cold War dynamics between the United States and the Soviet Union. The crisis followed incidents such as the Ain al-Sokhna tensions and the Fedayeen insurgency, intersecting with prior episodes like the 1954 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement, the Baghdad Pact, and disputes over Straits of Tiran. British leaders including Anthony Eden and French leaders including Guy Mollet sought ways to counter Nasserism while Israeli leaders like David Ben-Gurion pursued security aims after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the Suez Crisis precursor skirmishes such as the Qibya raid. International institutions such as the United Nations and organs like the United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice loomed over possible responses.

Negotiations and participants

Negotiations took place in late October 1956 at a villa in Sèvres and involved senior officials from the British Foreign Office, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Israeli Cabinet. Prominent participants included Anthony Eden, Selwyn Lloyd, Guy Mollet, Christian Pineau, David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan, and representatives tied to Isser Harel and Shimon Peres, with liaison contacts to military chiefs such as Harold Taylor and French plan officers. Although not party to the meetings, leaders like Dwight D. Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev watched closely, influencing diplomatic maneuvering among NATO allies and observers from Egypt and Jordan. The secret talks drew on prior contacts between Paris and Tel Aviv, and referenced contingency plans shaped by the British Armed Forces and the French Army leadership, while later disclosures prompted inquiries by legislators in bodies such as the House of Commons and the French National Assembly.

Terms and provisions

The protocol outlined a coordinated sequence: an Israeli military advance into the Sinai Peninsula followed by Anglo-French demands for a ceasefire and "interposition" to protect the Suez Canal, with the aim of compelling Egypt to withdraw forces and restore freedom of navigation. Provisions specified timing, pretexts, and public justificatory steps designed to present United Kingdom and France intervention as peacekeeping rather than aggression, referencing concepts invoked at the United Nations General Assembly and invoking precedents like the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 and mechanisms tied to UN peacekeeping operations. The agreement included military coordination between Israeli forces under commanders linked to the Israel Defense Forces and Anglo-French air and naval units, and contemplated occupation zones near Port Said and the Suez Canal Zone.

Immediate aftermath and military actions

Following the protocol, Israeli forces launched Operation Kadesh into the Sinai; the Royal Navy and French Air Force then conducted air strikes and landings near Port Said, precipitating the full-scale Suez Crisis and combat operations in late 1956. The sequence produced engagements involving ships such as units of the Royal Navy and French Navy, air sorties by the Royal Air Force and Armée de l'Air, and ground clashes involving the Israel Defense Forces and units of the Egyptian Army. Military actions resulted in territorial occupation of parts of the Sinai Peninsula and temporary control of sections of the Suez Canal, prompting humanitarian repercussions noted by the International Committee of the Red Cross and commentary from figures including Dag Hammarskjöld and delegates at the United Nations Security Council.

International reaction and legal implications

The secret nature of the protocol and the ensuing invasion provoked widespread international condemnation from actors such as the United States, led by Dwight D. Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles, and denunciations in the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev. The United Nations convened emergency sessions, and the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly criticized the intervention while authorizing measures that led to the deployment of the first large-scale United Nations Emergency Force under Dag Hammarskjöld and Lester B. Pearson initiatives. Legal debates invoked the Charter of the United Nations, customary international law, and precedents adjudicated by the International Court of Justice, raising questions about the lawfulness of forcible intervention, the doctrine of collective self-defense as claimed by Israel, and the use of pretexts in interstate conflict.

Long-term consequences and historical assessment

The Protocol of Sèvres and its exposure altered diplomatic alignments: it weakened the British Empire's global standing, accelerated decolonization narratives involving India and Indonesia, strained NATO cohesion between London and Washington, and enhanced Nasser's stature across the Arab World including among leaders like Hafez al-Assad and movements such as Arab nationalism. Historians and analysts, including those at the Royal United Services Institute and scholars citing archives from the British National Archives, Archives Nationales, and Israel State Archives, debate the protocol's intent, legality, and strategic miscalculations, comparing it to episodes like the Soviet invasion of Hungary and the Prague Spring interventions. The episode influenced later policy in the Middle East, shaping approaches to crises like the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, and remains a focal case in studies of covert diplomacy, alliance management, and the limits of military solutions in a nuclear and Cold War context.

Category:Suez Crisis Category:1956 treaties