By seeking to occupy the whole of Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu takes the war to its logical conclusion. Hamas was responsible for October 7, Israel will never be secure till Hamas is gone, and given that Hamas controls Gaza, why not uproot it from every last inch of territory?

But the Israelis enter without an exit plan, with the mad dream of constructing a friendly civil administration, repeating the exact same mistakes we made in Iraq. Netanyahu thinks he can destroy a revolutionary Palestinian spirit that the war has likely intensified. For a man obsessed with the ancient world, he has a scant grasp of history.

He has also divided his military. He has alienated those hostage families who are frightened their relatives might die . And he will finally, perhaps irrevocably, isolate Israel

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