Israel in Search of a War: The Sinai Campaign, 1955-1956

The Suez crisis, and the Sinai Campaign, was the final stage in a process rather than an autonomous episode. For at least a year prior to the eruption of the Suez crisis in July 1956, Israel had been looking for a pretext to launch a war against Egypt. By this means Israel believed it would achieve a stronger position in future talks. As early as spring 1955 some highly-placed individuals in Israel, led by officers in the army, tried to turn the issue of border security into a casus belli. They were blocked in their efforts by some Israeli politicians. The deal cut in Sevres in October 1956 called for an Israeli move to provide the western powers with a pretext to intervene. But this deal had to be kept secret. Thus both the Sinai War and Operation Musketeer took place under the constraints imposed by this combination of secrecy, mistrust, and operational logic turned upside down. --From publisher's description.