Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has described Israel’s presence in the West Bank as an “occupation”, in a marked deviation from the pro-Israel line taken by both Democratic and Republican parties.

Israel has been occupying the West Bank territory since the 1967 Middle East war, according to the United Nations (UN), and most countries regard the continued building of Jewish settlements in the disputed territory as illegal.

But for the last two decades, the establishment wings of both the Republican and Democratic Party have largely taken pro-Israel positions, with both calling for the disputed city of Jerusalem to be recognised as the Jewish nation’s capital.

“What people are starting to see, at least in the occupation of Palestine, is just an increasing crisis of humanitarian condition and that to me is just where I tend to come from on this issue,” Ms Ocasio Cortez told PBS News during a television interview,

Asked to expand on her use of the word occupation, she said: “Oh I think – what I meant is that the settlements that are increasing in some of these areas and places where Palestinians are experiencing difficulty in access to their housing and homes.

But she added: “I am not the expert on geopolitics on this issue. I am a firm believer in finding a two-state solution on this issue, and I’m happy to sit down with leaders on both of these – for me, I just look at things through a human-rights lens, and I may not use the right words. I know this is a very intense issue.”

Hillel Neur, an outspoken Israeli advocate and director of Geneva-based non-governmental organisation United Nations Watch, which monitors comments on Israel, said in a Twitter post: “Just by asking @TeenVogue fave Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez simple questions about her condemnation of Israel, @MargaretHoover of @PBS @FiringLineShow outdoes @SachaBaronCohen in exposing the silliness of politicians.”

Just by asking @TeenVogue fave Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez simple questions about her condemnation of Israel, @MargaretHoover of @PBS @FiringLineShow outdoes @SachaBaronCohen in exposing the silliness of politicians.”

Twitter user Jeffret Rabin said in a post: “Scary. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticises Israel for ‘the occupation of Palestine.’”

Ms Ocasio-Cortez is regarded as a rising star of the Democratic Party following her win over senior Democrat Joseph Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, in a June primary.

The 28-year-old has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli government’s treatment of the Palestinian people. During her primary campaign in May she condemned the Israeli army’s actions on the Gaza border in a Twitter post, saying: “This is a massacre. I hope my peers have the moral courage to call it such. No state or entity is absolved of mass shootings of protesters.

The UN Human Rights Council voted in May to launch a war crimes probe into the killings on the border, in which dozens of Gazans were shot dead.

“There is no justification. Palestinian people deserve basic human dignity, as anyone else. Democrats can’t be silent about this anymore,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez added.

Asked why she chose to post the tweet, she compared pro-Palestinian protests to civil rights activists in the US.

“I think I was primarily compelled on moral grounds because I could only imagine if 60 people were shot and killed in Ferguson,” she said.

“Or if 60 people were shot and killed in the West Virginia teachers’ strikes. The idea that we are not supposed to talk about people dying when they are engaging in political expression just really moved me.”

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