Still, Sanders stressed that he understands the stumbling blocks Israel faces in its efforts towards peace saying: "Peace requires the unconditional recognition by all people of Israel’s right to exist... and an end to attacks of all kinds against Israel. Peace will require that organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah renounce their efforts to undermine the security of Israel. It will require the entire world to recognize Israel."
"Peace has to mean security for every Israeli from violence and terrorism," Sanders stated, But it would also require the end of the Israeli occupation and “pulling back settlements in the West Bank.”“It is absurd for elements within the [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu government to suggest that building more settlements in the West Bank is the appropriate response to the most recent violence,” Sanders said. “It is also not acceptable that the Netanyahu government decided to withhold hundreds of millions of shekels in tax revenue from the Palestinians, which it is supposed to collect on their behalf. But, by the same token, it is unacceptable for President Abbas [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] to call for the abrogation of the Oslo Agreement when the goal should be ending the violence.”But he reiterated his criticism of Israel’s 2014 military campaign in the Gaza Strip and said peace would require ending the blockade of the coastal strip and ensuring Palestinian self-determination and control of their natural resources, especially water.Turning to other regional challenges, Sanders repeated his past support for the Iran nuclear deal, insisting that for all its flaws it represents the best hope of denying Iran a nuclear weapon.“I do not accept the idea that the ‘pro-Israel’ position was to oppose the deal,” Sanders said. “Preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon will strengthen not only America’s security, but Israel’s security as well. And I am not alone in that idea. While Prime Minister Netanyahu is vocally opposed to the accord, his is hardly a consensus opinion in Israel. Dozens of former security officials, including retired Army generals and chiefs of the Shin Bet and Mossad intelligence agencies support the agreement.”Sanders said if Iran did not abide by the agreement, sanctions should be reimposed “and all options are back on the table.”Sanders said countering the Islamic State group would require establishing a stable government in Iraq. In Syria, Sanders said the fight against the Islamic State had been “diluted” by the civil war and said turning back the Islamist group would require ensuring that “groups that take territory from the Islamic State can responsibly govern the areas they take back.” Ending the Syrian civil war, Sanders said, would require a negotiated settlement and pushed back against calls for greater American military involvement in the country.Sanders said that countries in the region had to take the lead in countering the Islamic State: