While saying that he is “100 percent pro-Israel,” Bernie Sanders held to his argument that the Israeli response in Gaza was “disproportionate” and that the United States must look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more even-handedly.
“There comes a time — there comes a time when if we pursue justice and peace, we are going to have to say that [Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin] Netanyahu is not right all of the time,” Sanders said on Thursday night at the CNN Democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn.
The remarks came as Hillary Clinton and Sanders debated the best path to peace in the region. While both candidates support a two-state solution, Clinton continually emphasizes her commitment to Israel security while the Vermont senator has recently focused more on what he considers justice for the Palestinians.
During an interview with the New York Daily News editorial board last week, Sanders faced criticisms for suggesting Israel “indiscriminately” killed over 10,000 Palestinians in the 2014 Gaza war— a statistic that is almost seven times the actual death toll.
“In the long run if we are ever going to bring peace to that region which has seen so much hatred and so much war, we are going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity,” Sanders said. “I believe the United States and the rest of the world have got to work together to help the Palestinian people. that does not make me anti-Israel. That paves the way, I think, to an approach that works in the Middle East.”
The former secretary of state responded by reminding the audience of her work negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas and her talks with the Muslim Brotherhood.
“You have a right to defend yourself. that does not mean — that does not mean that you don’t take appropriate precautions and I understand that there’s always second guessing any time there is a war,” Clinton said. “It also does not mean that we should not continue to do everything we can to try to reach a two-state solution.”
