Clinton supporters reject Israel settlements proposal

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Source: CNN

Orlando, Florida (CNN)Hillary Clinton supporters rejected an effort Saturday to add a call for "an end to occupations and illegal settlements" in Palestinian territories into the Democratic platform.

Clinton's backers argued that the current language in the party's platform, calling for negotiations for a two-state solution in Israel to give Palestinians a homeland, are enough and that going further would inflame tensions and undercut U.S. diplomats' ability to lead future negotiations.

But Bernie Sanders' supporters -- as well as dozens of young people in the crowd in an Orlando hotel ballroom for the Democratic National Committee's platform drafting committee's two-day meeting -- said the language they'd proposed simply repeated a position Clinton herself has taken in the past.

"This is a moral issue. This is an issue of our time. It has spiritual and moral implications," said Cornel West, the pro-Sanders civil rights activist and philosopher. "Democratic Party, you've been in denial for too long. Palestinians ought to be free."

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/09/politics/democratic-platform-israel-palestine-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/