The ink has not yet dried on a memorandum of understanding, and already cries of jubilation are being heard from across the hypocritical and sanctimonious world, most of it overwhelmingly so. This joy and relief are the old, familiar expression of the West's decline. Give them some imaginary peace, declarations of commitment made to be violated by a regime of terror and murder, or merely a memorandum of understanding that experience shows is worth nothing, and they will rejoice in the temporary calm and quiet, in the short-term lull they have obtained.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy did not make do with a dry diplomatic blessing, but said, "We warmly welcome" it. And to make clear just how much they had hoped and longed to return to the old, declining order, they immediately noted that they were "ready to lift relevant sanctions." Yes, there is also a condition: The lifting of sanctions will be done "in response to clear and verifiable steps by Iran on its nuclear program." What exactly do you mean by that, the cancellation of the nuclear program or perhaps only its reduction? One can only guess what the European countries' responses will be, after having undergone deep processes of Chamberlainization, in the case of Iranian violations.
But what do the details matter? The main thing, according to the statement, is that we are now at a "moment of opportunity to restore regional stability and stabilize the global economy." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called "for swift and full implementation by all parties," as if she had not seen at all what the Iranians did over recent weeks and months, and what they have done over the years.
And when they begin arranging the new regional or global "peace," there is one familiar and well-known player that is required to pay for it immediately and in cash. "Of course, there can be no peace in the Middle East," von der Leyen stressed, "as long as Lebanon is burning. Europe once again calls on all parties to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to implement a genuine ceasefire."
It is not surprising to discover that, from the Europeans' perspective, it is impossible to formulate any statement without the false symmetry of "both sides." Nor is it possible to miss the influence of France, which has seen itself as Lebanon's patron since its representatives took part in drawing the geographically impossible border between the British and French mandates. The hypocrites and the sanctimonious do not even bother to mention in any way the fact that Israel's sovereignty is being violated by Hezbollah fire, while civilian communities are being attacked.
The State of Israel should remind hypocritical and jubilant Europe of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, whose publication will mark its 20th anniversary in about a month. It was, of course, a resolution that was not worth the paper it was written on, like every resolution that contains even a trace of an attempt to respect Israel's sovereignty. UNIFIL, for those who have forgotten, was established to "take all necessary action" to ensure that its area of operations was not used for hostile activities. Israel Defense Forces soldiers have reported again and again on the existence of Hezbollah positions very close to UNIFIL posts. The resolution also stipulated that the transfer of weapons into the area must be prevented, and even that a full arms embargo must be imposed on weapons transfers to Hezbollah. And thus we arrived at a terrorist army holding more than 100,000 missiles.
For one historical moment, we chose to believe that a Western leader had emerged who was going against the tide of decline and was finally willing to use force, something that has almost been forgotten in the West. A leader who suddenly confronted his NATO partners over the negligible defense budget to which they had committed. A leader less drawn to sophisticated philosophical debates about just and unjust wars, and more inclined toward common sense in the face of a regime of terror and murder. But as it appears at the time of writing, he too has surrendered to the West's processes of decline.
Israel must stand its ground and act by every means to increase, as much as possible, its economic, energy and arms independence in the face of the West's Chamberlainization.
