Democratic Jewish Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders attacked Israel this past Saturday in a tweet saying, “The killing of Palestinian demonstrators by Israeli forces in Gaza is tragic. It is the right of all people to protest for a better future without a violent response.”
סיכום אירועי סוף השבוע pic.twitter.com/s55GLFvFS8
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline)
In a subsequent interview with CNN, Sanders went further, saying he did not accept Israel’s contention that most of those killed in the clashes at the border were terrorists who directly attacked soldiers, attempted to damage the security fence or tried to infiltrate into Israeli territory — despite Israel’s clear documentation that 10 of the 16 at the time were terrorists, including eight members of Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization, one member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and a member of the Fatah-linked Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.
“My understanding is you have tens of thousands of people who were engaged in a non-violent protest,” Sanders said. “I believe now 15 or 20 people, Palestinians, have been killed, and many, many others have been wounded. So I think it’s a difficult situation, but my assessment is that Israel overreacted on that.”