Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) accused Israel of overreacting when asked about 17 Palestinians being killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers at the Gaza border during a protest.

Sanders said, “I think from what my understanding is, is you have tens and tens of thousands of people who are engaged in a nonviolent protest. I believe now 15 or 20 people, Palestinians have been killed and many others have been wounded.”

He added, “I think it’s a difficult situation, but my assessment is that Israel overreacted on that, but again the bottom line here is that the United States of America has got to be involved in dealing with the terrible tragedy in Gaza whether it is Syria, whether it’s Yemen or Gaza. We’re looking at the need for the international community led by the United States to deal with that situation Gaza is a disaster right now. Youth unemployment is off the charts, and we’ll continue to see those kinds of demonstrations and protests unless the world community recognizes the problem in Gaza and brings the Israelis and the Palestinians together to start addressing those problems.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN