Israel Loses Europe |
CounterPunch Exclusives
CounterPunch Exclusives
Photograph Source: Ser Amantio di Nicolao – CC BY-SA 4.0
Israel is losing on all fronts. And it’s not just multiple Merkava tanks incinerated by Hezbollah or Tel Aviv high-rises pulverized by Iranian missiles. In the days before April 1, Israel lost the governments of Spain, France and Italy. And it ain’t doin’ too well with the U.K., either. In a word, Jerusalem lost Europe, except maybe for that one historically guilt-convulsed holdout – Germany. France forbade Israeli use of its airspace to transfer U.S. weapons for the Iran War; whereupon, tit for tat as it cut off its nose to spite its face, Israel halted defense spending with France.
Meanwhile, back on March 11, Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel over Spanish opposition to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, then at the end of March Spain blasted the new Israeli law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, while Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez also accused Israel of trying to turn Lebanon into the titanic wreck it produced in Gaza; Spain also continues its large-scale arms embargo, so no technology, military equipment or weapons get sold to Israel, while its ports remain closed to ships carrying weapons to Israel. Lastly, Spain won’t permit U.S.-Israel military efforts aimed at Iran to use Spanish military bases or airspace. So Spain, as far as Israel is concerned, is in the doghouse. Not that Spain could care less.
Then on March 30, far-right Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni announced: “I accuse Israel of crossing the red line. I CONDEMN the massacre of Palestinian civilians and I announce that Italy will support European sanctions against Israel.” By the way, if you think Meloni is a leftist, you need your head examined. If you think she’s a soft, fuzzy humanitarian, you’ve got another thing coming. For her to get upset about Israeli abuse of Palestinians means it’s ten times worse than whatever you could imagine.
So when will those European Union sanctions against Israel come? The whole world waits for the other shoe to drop, but unfortunately that shoe is in Washington, and Berlin on the Potomac will never greenlight sanctions on its proxy attack dog in the Middle East. Still, the sanctions could come because the people of European countries have long condemned Israel for its genocide in Gaza. And when the governments chime in, that’s a change. Spain is less surprising than France or Italy; it has long criticized Israel for its war........