...if it withdraws to an internationally recognised border, it will have the moral high ground, the strategic high ground and the demographic high ground to protect itself.
Demographically speaking, if Israel does not relinquish the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinians will soon outnumber the Jews, and Israel will become either an apartheid state or a non-Jewish state.
An Israeli withdrawal will strip the worst Arab leaders of an excuse not to reform, it will create more space for the best Arab leaders to move forward and it will give Palestinians something to protect.
In sum, Israel should withdraw from the territories, not because it is weak, but because it must remain strong; not because Israel is wrong, but because Zionism is a just cause that the occupation is undermining...
Thomas Friedman/NYTimes/The Age (AU) Jan.21.04
