I would caution against any Israeli triumphalism at this point because it is possible to read

this escalation and the turn to Lebanon recently as an attempt to break the military impasse

to respond to stalemate by moving on to more productive crises. That would be the pattern of

the Netanyahu administration. There is some evidence of exhaustion

among Israeli troops. There was a telling detail and recent report. They described how soldiers

were demoralized by having to go back and pass by the same area over and over again. Jabaliyah was one

example. Now that's because they don't have a strategy. because once you clear an area, if Hamas then sets

themselves up in it after you leave, it's because you haven't really got any idea of what new order

you want to create.

In general, there appears to be a growing form of what they call grey refusal, which is where

soldiers basically beg off missions without

outing themselves as conscientious objectors and facing potential legal sanction.

Well, the question is, at what point does that lend itself to a crisis of command in an army

that's already somewhat fractious and divided between, you know, the hardcore crusaders who want to finish the

job as far as genocide's concerned. And those who's involvement is probably a bit less zealous

and who are more susceptible to a kind of collapse. So it's not all triumph for Israel.

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