As much of the world crosses its fingers in hopes the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire will hold, many analysts and commentators are examining whether this indeed will leave Israel better off. A mountain of evidence indicates Israel is really no safer than it was four weeks ago and, depending how you look at it, is now in even greater danger.

The cease-fire not only comes at a time when Hezbollah’s missile-launching capability had not been reduced at all (the day before the cease-fire saw 250 rockets rain down on Israel), but with an inbuilt guarantee that Hezbollah will not be disarmed.

The United Nations resolution authorizes a force of up to 15,000 UN troops, likely to be led by France, to enter Lebanon to enforce the cease-fire in conjunction with a Lebanese force. But, the UN’s mission, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy made clear in an interview with Le Monde, “would not include disarming Hezbollah by force.”

Seeing as Hezbollah disarming voluntarily surely is not on the cards, ultimately the UN cease-fire is doomed to fail.

So, one may ask, why would the world community propose such a cease-fire agreement?

That the United States was coerced into agreeing to such a resolution is a whole other story, but Europe has made its reasoning quite clear. It is worth considering the position of the major architects of the cease-fire: Europe, and, in particular, France.

Two incidents in the last couple weeks demonstrate that Europe is no particular friend of Israel.

Firstly, Europe does not even consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The message is as clear as it is wrong-headed: The European Union won‘t add Hezbollah to its terror list, nor block its funding. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, was quoted in the August 1 International Herald Tribune as stating, “Given the sensitive situation where we are, I don’t think this is something we will be acting on now.”

EU member states took the lead in brokering the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. It appears European troops will lead a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. Does Europe feel that a mediating role, acting as an “unbiased” go-between for Hezbollah and Israel, would be threatened by it clamping down on the terrorist group?

Fact is, this is in line with a stance Europe has consistently taken: providing support for Israel’s enemies. For example, over the past decade or so, the EU has given billions of dollars to the Palestinians, much of which has been proven to have gone toward terrorism.

Secondly—though it is almost inconceivable to consider—France says that Iran is a stabilizing force in the Middle East. The August 1 online edition of the Jerusalem Post carried the following comments by Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy: “In the region there is of course a country such as Iran—a great country, a great people and a great civilization which is respected and which plays a stabilizing role in the region.”

There is no doubting the rich history of Iran and its glorious history under some of its Persian kings, as spelled out in the annals of time. But today, it is far from being a stabilizing force in the Middle East. Its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not be earning any Nobel peace prizes for his repeated acerbic comments: He has repeatedly gone on record declaring that Israel does not have a right to exist and that it should be wiped off the map. Then there are Iran’s threats to limit its oil supply from international markets at any given moment, which also fail to suggest Iran is a rock of stability. Or what about its track record for exporting terror, sponsoring Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror organizations around the world? Certainly, that can’t earn a passing grade on the stability test.

So why, in the face of so much evidence to the contrary, is France’s foreign minister saying such things? Is it simply to frustrate U.S. initiatives in the Middle East? Regardless, it fits the pattern: Europe sure is no true friend of Israel.

This is a reality we should keep in mind in the coming weeks and months as a European force under the auspices of the UN likely sets up base in southern Lebanon.