A few days ago, when Kosovo was playing football with Israel, I was pondering why Israel is not a NATO member. Israel has been participating in European leagues for 30 years, not in Asia where it is geographically located. In many historical, geographical, and strategic aspects, this country is closer to Europe than many NATO member states, and this is not for sporting reasons.

So, why isn’t Israel in NATO?

The question I have is, if history were different, and Israel were a NATO member, would it have restrained Hamas terrorists who, among other things, killed innocent children to provoke a war between Iran and Israel? Would they have dared to involve NATO in a conflict with Iran? Would the fear of NATO’s involvement in the conflict have restrained Iran, the financial supporter of Hamas? Would Lebanon, held hostage by Hezbollah, be more peaceful as a border state with NATO? Could Hezbollah exist on the border with NATO? Would Israel itself be more cautious in respecting Palestinians, whose animosity it has earned over the past 75 years?

Perhaps yes, perhaps no.

If there’s one hundred reasons NATO should not get involved in that part of the world, there are a thousand reasons to believe that NATO’s presence there could have saved the world from many tragedies. Just as Turkey or Ukraine are NATO members, Israel could be too.

So why isn’t Israel in NATO? Because it’s outside Europe? That’s not a criterion. Canada is also far from Europe but is in NATO. NATO doesn’t have Europe’s borders; otherwise, Turkey wouldn’t be a member, and neither would Ukraine, which is even farther from Israel, leading to Russia’s involvement in conflict.

On the other hand, Turkey’s NATO membership disproves the prejudice that this military alliance is based on the Euro-Atlantic Christian civilization. Turkey is a Muslim country, more Asian than European, yet it is a NATO member. Azerbaijan, which is also far from Europe and has a Muslim majority, could be next. Israel is not a Christian country like Turkey or Albania, both NATO members.

But what would happen if Israel joined NATO?

Antisemitism would rise. European cities would be filled with millions of protesters blaming Israel for state terrorism even more than they blame Hamas. Many Europeans believe that Hamas is a product of Israel’s systematic violence against unprotected Palestinians. If the Palestinian State had been established earlier, and Israel had not hindered it, perhaps there would be no need for Hamas, and the two peoples would live in peace, saving the world from so much division and anarchy.

Meanwhile, if Israel’s NATO membership were ever discussed, the loudest opponent would likely be Turkey. Turkey would permanently veto it for understandable reasons. Turkey claims to be the greatest defender of Muslims worldwide, even though NATO has not accepted it for this reason. Turkey, strangely enough, is also preventing Sweden from joining NATO, while Sweden is one of the world’s most pro-Palestinian countries.

However, I think the opposite is true, as the classic case of Turkey and Greece illustrates. If they were not NATO members, Turkey and Greece might have gone to war every five years over uninhabited islands. This has not happened and is unlikely to happen soon because the alliance works.

It unites by intimidating and intimidates by uniting. The same could happen in the Middle East. NATO advancing into a complex region is like a lion entering a forest where cats fight for meat.

If Israel goes to war with another state, like Iran, as it seemed a few weeks ago, it’s certain that America, the largest NATO military force, would intervene to defend it. Many politicians worldwide believe this is America’s plan: to use Israel to overthrow the Iranian Islamic regime and prevent it from producing a nuclear weapon. I’m not sure if this will happen, not because America doesn’t want it, but because Iran has withdrawn, and the upcoming elections in America may not favor this.

But if America went to war every day to defend Israel, and perhaps followed by Britain and many European countries, including Germany, wouldn’t this mean that NATO has gone to war in Israel? It’s almost the same thing.

Even without being in NATO, Israel would be defended by NATO.

So why should Israel be in NATO?

Because this solution might quickly calm the crisis in the Middle East. The acceptance of Israel into NATO could come with conditions. The main condition should be the recognition and permission for the State of Palestine. The need for collective defense when threatened by all Arab states and Iran might prompt Israel to recognize and implement agreements for the creation of the Palestinian State. If Israel accepted this condition, not only Turkey but the majority of NATO member countries and beyond would have fewer concerns. The world map would have one more state and one less conflict.

But perhaps all this reasoning is futile because Israel may never want to be part of NATO, even though, in today’s conditions, it would wish to be more protected than it currently is. Israel feels free to destroy Palestinians as it is doing, without any international obligation binding its hands. A NATO member would never bomb Gaza in the cruel manner we have seen in recent weeks.

Therefore, we have as many reasons as Israel itself to expand the Alliance, and this topic will likely be on NATO’s table one day. Albania, as a member, should be in favor, even though it would never say no given its weight and history.

Then, if Israel refuses, we’ll have to watch the match between Israel and Albania or Israel and Germany in the European Championship, pondering why Israel plays with a plastic ball in Europe and iron balls in Asia.

During the break between matches, we would see children being killed in Gaza and Israel alike.

Precisely because the world has failed to protect both parties. Watching football during the break between two wars.