The United States occupied Germany after WW2 and remained a democracy. It is quite common for one country to occupy territory after war. The settlements are illegal as a country is not supposed to make permanent settlements without a peace treaty. The settlements are illegal, but the occupation is not.

Agree!
Alan B.

Both Germany and Japan were occupied after WW11. But none of their territory was annexed by the democratic occupiers.

Not so in Palestine!

Which is an evil and illegal outcome that makes Israel look like the Nazi SS of long ago.

Give peace a chance and end the endless bloodletting that only serves evil political purpose!
Alan B.

Is there an invoice applicable to this twaddle, and does it includes a violin concerto.

Obviously the money was stumped up and paid for by Biden and his Democratic warmongering criminals; IE the same current wreckers of US Democracy beavering away at Israeli Democracy.

What a joke!

Israel's democracy and Israel's health can only be restored when its 1967 occupation is ended, and it can only end once Israel leaves the taken territories completely to the last millimeter.

This has nothing to do with the "Palestinian" question: Israel took these lands from Egypt, Syria and Jordan, not from any "Palestinians".
Also, no peace is possible with these people who now call themselves "Palestinians" because they are not only portrayed as being an irredeemable foe as the article suggests - but are indeed an irredeemable foe, albeit a very weak and insignificant foe, which therefore requires no further consideration. They are simply irrelevant.

Israel should leave its remaining occupied territories for its own good, and should do so independently even if not a single "Palestinian" remained there.

But can Israel do so?
I'm afraid not.

Israel's demography today is very different than Israel of the 1960's and 1970's. The fanatic and violent Jewish Messianic movement has gained power, is now taking over the country, and even if Israel's government somehow wanted to leave the occupied territories, they could never face the internal resistance.

Moderate Israelis have read the writing on the wall and are now giving up and while some are still on the back foot demonstrating, those who can are leaving the country in droves: they can see that in a few years their treatment will not be any better than those currently under occupation.

«Israel will end up being nothing but a pariah state, shattering the Jewish dream of having an independent, free, strong, and just state with which every Jew takes pride»

There was never one "Jewish dream", there was the original Zionist dream of those who initially settled and built Israel and who wished to include the native Arabs in their dream as equal partners, now replaced with the very different cultist Messianic-racist dream of Bigger Israel.

The best that can realistically happen to Israel now, its society already being split, is to be split in two, so democracy and the old dream are kept alive at least in some of its land.

Dear Yuyutsu,

I think your analysis is spot on. However, I don't think Israel can survive a split. I just hope those who want an independent, free, strong and just state will win out