It led to the escalation of hostilities over the Israeli-Egyptian border and eventually contributed to the 1956 Suez War. In mid 1956, The Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser, encouraged by support from the Soviet Union, nationalized the Suez Canal. In response, United Kingdom and France planned Operation Musketeer (1956) aiming at regaining Western control of the Suez Canal and removing the Egyptian president Nasser. In late 1956, the bellicosity of recent Arab statements prompted Israel to remove the threat of the concentrated Egyptian forces in the Sinai, and Israel invaded the Egyptian Sinai peninsula. Other Israeli aims were elimination of the Fedayeen incursions into Israel that made life unbearable for its southern population, and opening the blockaded Straits of Tiran for Israeli ships. Israeli armour, equipped with tanks, such as M4 Sherman and AMX-13 quickly defeated the Egyptian forces and took control over the Sinai within a few days. As agreed, within a couple of days, Britain and France invaded too and recaptured the canal. Britain, France and Israel withdrew from Sinai under international pressure, particularly by the United States. But the IDF had achieved numerous goals; the borders dramatically tranquilized, Nasser promised to disband the Fedayeen, the Straits of Tiran were once again opened to Israeli ships and maybe most important of all, Israel had illustrated its military strength. The successful war elevated the reputation of the IDF and contributed highly to the morale of the soldiers. 1956–1966 Following the successful campaign in Sinai, the IDF used this relatively quiet decade to arm on a great scale and increase military professionalism. The main suppliers of weapons was France, which provided Israel rifles, tanks and jet fighters, including the Dassault Mirage III. The peak of France's assistance was the construction of the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona in 1960. The 1967 Six-Day War By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of actual battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces. In 1967, Egypt expelled UN peacekeepers, stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and announced a partial blockade of Israel's access to the Red Sea. In May 1967 a number of Arab states began to mobilize their forces. Israel saw these actions as a casus belli. On the morning of 5 June 1967, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a massive airstrike that destroyed the majority of the Egyptian air force on the ground. By noon, the