When observing the diplomatic posture of Britain, France and Spain toward Israel, it is difficult to shake the image of a deteriorating patient who stubbornly pushes the doctor away.
Europe is certainly entitled to criticize Israel. It must demand adherence to international law and the protection of civilians. But when valid criticism devolves into a concerted policy to isolate and weaken Israel, the continent must ask itself who exactly is being diminished and who ultimately profits from this rift.
Britain suspended some of its arms export licenses to Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron explicitly called for a halt in supplying weapons used in the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Spain took it a step further by enshrining an arms embargo in September 2025, which included strict limitations on trading dual-use technologies.
While one can comprehend the humanitarian concerns driving these decisions, it is far more difficult to justify a policy that completely ignores the strategic ramifications. Weakening a country actively fighting Hamas, Hezbollah and the broader Iranian axis means weakening the very nation fighting Europe's war.
The Iranian threat does not conveniently stop at Israel's borders. In October 2025, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum publicly disclosed that the MI5 had tracked more than 20 Iranian-backed plots in a single year – plots with lethal potential. He also highlighted assassination attempts thwarted in the Netherlands and Spain.
The regime in Tehran is actively attempting to export oppression, intimidation and murder directly into European nations. Anyone operating under the delusion that the Iranian problem is merely a distant Middle Eastern conflict is willfully ignoring the urgent warnings of their own security agencies.
Russia is also currently waging a shadow war inside Europe, extending far beyond the physical invasion of Ukraine. The EU has documented severe cyber attacks, infrastructure sabotage and widespread information manipulation. France directly attributed malicious attacks on election processes, the media and essential public agencies to Russian military intelligence.
In Britain, individuals were convicted of torching a warehouse holding crucial supplies bound for Ukraine. This is an orchestrated campaign targeting European security, economic stability and public trust. And the entity Russia is enthusiastically cooperating with is Iran.
Radical Islam simultaneously threatens the continent from within through persistent terrorism, recruitment and radicalization. According to the European Commission's review of the 2025 Europol (the EU law enforcement agency) report, jihadist terrorism remained the deadliest threat within the bloc in 2024, with deep concern over the radicalization of very young individuals.
The devastating Paris attacks, the brutal murder of Samuel Paty and the massacre in Barcelona have already demonstrated the heavy price of inaction. This necessary struggle is strictly aimed at violent extremism, and millions of European Muslims serve as essential, law-abiding partners in confronting it. Yet entire neighborhoods in European cities currently exist under the absolute control of radical Islam, an ideology with the singular goal of imposing its will on the West.
Europe has not been conquered in a traditional military sense, but its fundamental sovereignty is quietly eroding. Money is buying illicit access, fear is actively restricting freedom of expression and targeted sabotage is undermining vital infrastructure. Iran, Russia, Qatar and extremist movements do not operate as a single unified body, but each exploits democratic openness in its own unique way to destabilize Europe.
And yes, there are highly problematic elements within the Israeli government's conduct, including accountability failures, dangerous rhetoric and decisions that warrant intense scrutiny, alongside highly problematic behavior toward Palestinians in Judea and Samaria – but despite all this, Europe must acknowledge Israel's immense security value.
A clear message must be delivered to London, Paris and Madrid to demand accountability from Jerusalem, but to never forget that Israel can help save them. Weakening Israel is not a defense plan for Europe, it could be a gift to the enemies of both of us, and it will ultimately accelerate the loss of Europe's independence.
