After Nasser became the president of Egypt, he declared the Suez Canal, which connected the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, to be the property of the Egyptians. This was the first conflict of the Suez War. France and Britain had built the Suez Canal and at this time, France and Britain signed an agreement with the Israelis to invade Egypt and regain the Suez Canal. In October of 1956, Israeli troops invaded Sinai. Following this act, Britain and France landed their troops near Suez and demanded that Israel and Egypt withdraw their forces to ten miles on either side of the canal. Britain and France had planned to move in. However, this plan failed and the United Nations demanded a cease-fire.
             As a result of the 1956 war, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was stationed on the border between Israel and at points in the Sinai Peninsula. However, Israel refused to allow UN troops to be stationed on their land, so the troops were only stationed in Egypt. Cross border attacks and massive raids continued to occur.
             Nasser moved troops toward the Israeli border and on May 22, Nasser closed the Gulf of Aquaba to Israeli shipping. Closing the Gulf of Aquaba would stifle Israel's developing commerce. This also cut off Israel's only Red Sea trade routes to Africa and Asia. However, Israel held back hoping that Europe and America would join in making it clear that the Egyptian action would not be tolerated.
             Arab attacks continued to occur. In April of 1966, three Israeli houses were blown up. A few days later an Israeli army truck was damaged. Israel shot down six Syrian planes while others were chased
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