Protocol of Sèvres: Secret Anglo-Franco-Israeli Agreement (1956)

SUMMARY

The Protocol of Sèvres was a secret agreement allegedly reached between the governments of Israel, France, and the United Kingdom in October 1956, concerning their joint political and military collusion against Egypt during the Suez Crisis. While British officials like Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd described the discussions as merely a "record of discussion," Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion insisted on a British signature due to perceived evasiveness. The existence of a signed protocol is corroborated by Israeli archival documents, including Ben-Gurion's diary and copies in the Ben-Gurion Archives and Israel State Archives. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden is alleged to have shredded the British copy to hide evidence of collusion, and the French copy was reportedly misplaced. The full text of the protocol has been reproduced from Israeli archives.

CLAIMS

1. CORROBORATEDCONF 0.90

   The Protocol of Sèvres was a secret agreement reached between Israel, France, and the United Kingdom concerning joint political and military collusion against Egypt.

   — attributed to: Wikipedia

   • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_of_S%C3%A8vres
2. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.70

   British Prime Minister Anthony Eden shredded the British copy of the Protocol of Sèvres to hide evidence of collusion.

   — attributed to: Encyclopedia.com

   • https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sevres-protocol-1956
3. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.70

   The French copy of the Protocol of Sèvres was misplaced.

   — attributed to: Encyclopedia.com

   • https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sevres-protocol-1956
4. CORROBORATEDCONF 0.95

   Surviving copies of the Protocol of Sèvres are found in Israeli archives, including the Ben-Gurion Archives and Israel State Archives.

   — attributed to: Encyclopedia.com, JSTOR

   • https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sevres-protocol-1956
   • https://www.jstor.org/stable/2624270
5. VERIFIEDCONF 0.98

   The original French text of the protocol and an English translation have been reproduced from Israeli archives by Selwyn Ilan Troen.

   — attributed to: JSTOR

   • https://www.jstor.org/stable/2624270
6. VERIFIEDCONF 0.95

   Ben-Gurion's diary on October 26, 1956, records discussions related to the Sèvres meeting and his insistence on a British signature due to British evasiveness.

   — attributed to: Academia.edu

   • https://www.academia.edu/22327742/The_Protocol_of_Sevres_British_French_Israeli_Collusion_against_Egypt_1956
7. VERIFIEDCONF 0.98

   British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd denied that the Sèvres meeting constituted collusion, stating that British representatives merely outlined reactions to events, and the signed document was a 'record of the discussion,' not a protocol.

   — attributed to: history.state.gov (citing Lloyd's memoirs)

   • https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v16/d373
8. VERIFIEDCONF 0.98

   French Foreign Minister Christian Pineau termed the document signed at Sèvres a 'protocol'.

   — attributed to: history.state.gov (citing Pineau)

   • https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v16/d373

TIMELINE

• 1956-10-22Discussions begin in Sèvres, France, between representatives of Israel, France, and the United Kingdom. [src]
• 1956-10-24Discussions conclude and the secret agreement (Protocol of Sèvres) is reportedly reached and signed. [src]
• 1956-10-26David Ben-Gurion records in his diary details regarding the Sèvres discussions and his insistence on a British signature. [src]
• 1996Selwyn Ilan Troen reproduces the original French text of the Protocol and an English translation from Israeli archives. [src]

ENTITIES

• EVENT Protocol of Sèvres — secret agreement
• PLACE Sèvres, France — meeting location
• ORG Israel — signatory nation
• ORG France — signatory nation
• ORG United Kingdom — signatory nation
• ORG Egypt — target of collusion
• PERSON David Ben-Gurion — Prime Minister of Israel, signatory
• PERSON Anthony Eden — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• PERSON Selwyn Lloyd — British Foreign Secretary
• PERSON Christian Pineau — French Foreign Minister
• ORG Ben-Gurion Archives, Sede-Boker — archive holding protocol copy
• ORG Israel State Archives, Jerusalem — archive holding protocol copy
• EVENT Suez Crisis — context for agreement

OPEN QUESTIONS — PENDING LEADS

• Are there any declassified French government documents that directly acknowledge the signing of the 'Protocol of Sèvres' as a formal, collusive agreement?
• Do British National Archives contain any unredacted documents from October 1956 that refer to a signed 'Protocol of Sèvres' or its destruction by Anthony Eden?
• What specific documents from the Ben-Gurion Archives or Israel State Archives contain the full, unredacted text of the Protocol of Sèvres and its signatories, and are they publicly accessible online?
• Have any additional scholarly analyses or historical investigations since 1996 provided new evidence from British or French archives that corroborates or refutes the specific terms of the protocol as published by Troen?
• What were the precise motivations given by Anthony Eden for the alleged destruction of the British copy of the protocol, if documented in any primary or secondary sources?

EVIDENCE — CAPTURED SOURCES

1. [WEB] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_of_S%C3%A8vres

   The Protocol of Sèvres (French, Protocole de Sèvres) was a secret agreement reached between the governments of Israel, France, and the United Kingdom during discussions held between 22 and 24 October 1956 in Sèvres, France. The protocol concerns their joint political and military…

2. [WEB] https://www.academia.edu/22327742/The_Protocol_of_Sevres_British_French_Israeli_Collusion_against_Egypt_1956

   As recorded in Ben-Gurion's diary on 26 October 1956 and found in the Ben- Gurion Archives, Sede-Boker. Note that Eden uses the passive in describing the discussions at Sèvres. There is no direct acknowledgement of the British having taken part. It was this evasiveness which Ben-…

3. [WEB] https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v16/d373

   In his memoirs, Lloyd gives a similar description of the meeting at Sèvres but denies that what happened constituted collusion. According to Lloyd, at no time did British representatives request that Israel take military action; they “merely stated what would be our reactions if …

4. [WEB] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_S%C3%A8vres/Protocol

   The French Government will transmit to all the signatory Powers a certified copy of the procès-verbaux of the deposit of ratifications. IN FAITH WHEREOF the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty. Done at Sevrès, the tenth day of August one thousand nine hun…

5. [WEB] https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sevres-protocol-1956

   Eager to hide evidence of this "collusion," British prime minister Anthony Eden shredded the document and the French misplaced it. Surviving copies are to be found in Israeli archives, where evidence of the first instance of cooperation with Western powers was treasured. see also…

6. [WEB] https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/20515408/doc-5-cna-suez-1956.pdf

   National Security Archive

7. [WEB] https://www.jstor.org/stable/2624270

   The Protocol is now available at the Ben-Gurion Archives in Sede-Boker and in the Israel State Archives in Jerusalem. Selwyn Ilan Troen, 'The Protocol of Sevres: British/French/Israeli collusion against Egypt, I956', Israel Studies I: 2, Fall I996, pp. I22-39, reproduced the orig…

8. [WEB] https://unredacted.uk/the-archive/

   The Unredacted Archive brings together thousands of national security-related documents gathered by the team, providing full access to hundreds of thousands of pages of declassified material, court documents, FOIA responses and more. It is a new, permanent home for this material,…

9. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/17de6gh/representatives_from_the_britishisraeli_and/

   8.1M subscribers in the europe community. Europe: 50 (+6) countries, 230 languages, 746M people… 1 subreddit.

10. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/Declassified/

    How can I browse archives of declassified files on government sites? As the title states I'm looking to find out how to browse declassified files. I'm curious to cross reference "declassified" information I've found online, just to cross reference and make sure its legit, but I w…

11. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1c59sv1/is_there_anything_thats_still_classified_or/

    If you are asking, is there information from World War II that is still considered classified and exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, the answer is "clearly, yes, lots," and you can see that in the level of redaction that is present in many documents from that era. You me…

12. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/8rcfto/how_can_we_be_sure_that_whatever_declassified/

    How can we be sure that, whatever declassified documents are available, of whatever government (USA, USSR, Germany, UK, etc) they haven't been manipulated until the date of official declassification?

13. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/Frenchhistory/comments/wkrtar/the_treaty_of_sevres_is_signed_in_1920_that/

    We cannot provide a description for this page right now

14. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/DeclassifiedCIA/

    A place to share declassified CIA documents you think more people should know about.

15. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/SWWP/comments/en0wvg/diplomacy_treaty_of_sevres/
16. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/Journalism/comments/1af53db/finding_declassified_government_docs/

    I'm new to journalism, and I have high interest in declassified government documents. Is there a site that publishes all the recently declassified documents? Besides just going to the particular agency and checking their press releases every day? How do I go about finding recent …

CROSS-REFERENCE

• → SHARES-EVENT Suez Crisis 1956: Anglo-French-Israeli Collusion and the Protocol of Sèvres — Both reference Protocol Of Se Vres, Anthony Eden, Suez Crisis
• → SHARES-ACTOR Suez Crisis 1956: British, French, Israeli Covert Planning and Invasion of Egypt — Both reference David Ben Gurion, Protocol Of Se Vres, Egypt
• → SHARES-EVENT Suez Crisis (1956): Anglo-French-Israeli Collusion and US Diplomatic Pressure — Both reference Protocol Of Se Vres, Egypt, Israel
• ← SHARES-ACTOR Sèvres Protocol Dissenting Opinions and Warnings (1956) — Both reference Christian Pineau, David Ben Gurion, Protocol Of Se Vres