Europe finally did a sensible thing, standing up to America's father, but whether it can be successfully done is still uncertain.
On September 25, Italy and Spain sent warships for the first time in history to escort the "Global Resilience Convoy" toward Gaza, openly challenging Israel's long-standing maritime blockade.
Italy deployed two frigates, while Spain sent the coastal patrol ship Flor and the Mendez Núñez frigate, which will later provide reinforcements.
This unprecedented aid convoy comes from more than 40 countries, carrying thousands of tons of supplies, with the goal of directly delivering medicines and food to Gaza.
For Europe, which has been used to only expressing opinions at the United Nations, this is indeed a sensible move. However, whether this sensible move can be successfully carried out remains a big question mark.
From the perspective of Italy and Spain, sending troops to escort is not aimed at confronting Israel, but rather out of the need to protect their own citizens and support humanitarian causes politically.
Especially in Italy, trade unions have already threatened that if the convoy is attacked, they will prevent Israeli-related goods from entering the ports; the Spanish government has always publicly supported Palestine and pushed for its recognition as a state.
This time, both governments have taken decisive action under public and political pressure, trying to demonstrate responsibility and presence with warships.
The problem is, how far can this escort actually go? Both Italian and Spanish governments repeatedly emphasized that it is not an act of provocation, but a humanitarian duty. However, in the Eastern Mediterranean, once real confrontation with Israeli warships occurs, it will not be resolved by diplomatic rhetoric alone.
In other words, they have sent their warships out, and the action is impressive, but whether they truly have the courage to stand up to the challenge is still unclear.
Israel's attitude remains consistently strong, clearly stating that any vessel attempting to break the blockade will be intercepted.
Naval special forces are on standby, and if necessary, they will board ships directly, just like the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.
Even if it is the warships of Italy and Spain, Israel will not easily back down.
In this situation, the escort by European warships may fall into a dilemma: if a real conflict occurs with the Israeli navy, the risks will far exceed the scope of the humanitarian mission itself, possibly even touching sensitive mechanisms within NATO; if they retreat or change course to Israeli ports, it would significantly dilute the symbolic meaning of the escort.
Considering that Europe has always been timid, and Israel is America's father, this escort operation is likely to fail completely.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844307561108492/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.