In late 1956, parliamentary elections in Jordan resulted in major victories for Arab nationalist and other left-leaning parties. Hussein subsequently appointed Suleiman Nabulsi, an Arab nationalist, socialist and one of the leading pro-Nasser MP-elects, as prime minister in October. Roughly coinciding with Nabulsi's appointment, the British, French and Israelis launched a tripartite invasion of the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, mainly in response to Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal Company among other reasons. Hussein declared a state of emergency and his opposition against the invasion and agreed to Egyptian chief of staff Abdel Hakim Amer's request for Jordanian military intervention. To that end, Hussein instructed Abu Nuwar to immediately execute Amer's order to launch Operation Beisan, which entailed a Jordanian-Syrian armored invasion of the Israeli coastal plain, which was seen as Israel's most vulnerable region due to the short length between the coast and the Jordanian-held West Bank. However, Abu Nuwar viewed the operation as far too risky for the Jordanian army and advised Hussein to await Syria's adherence to the plan; Egypt, Syria and Jordan had formed a defense pact days before the Israeli occupation of Sinai on 29 October.