Bernie Sanders did much to advance the cause of Palestine. In his comments and speeches, he challenged the conservative positions baked in to the American mainstream that have historically undermined the Palestinian struggle for justice. Apart from referring to Benjamin Netanyahu as a racist and calling into question AIPAC’s (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s) authority, Sanders had shown his intent to pressure Israel for meaningful concessions, should he have become president of the United States. Rather than repeating the US habit of timid, empty requests for Palestinian rights, Sanders was willing to push for Palestinian sovereignty in ways totally alien to the Democratic Party, not to mention the Republicans. Most important, perhaps, Sanders had insisted on adherence to international law in regard to the settlements in the West Bank.

The sham peace process since the 1990s has morphed into US acceptance of Israel’s annexation of territory that directly contravenes international law. Sanders, by contrast, is against the occupation and has argued that Israeli settlements in the West Bank were illegal and constitute a major impediment to Palestinian sovereignty. Breaking with the consensus that for the past three decades has asked the Palestinians to make endless accommodations, Sanders privileges a genuinely negotiated agreement that would undermine Israel’s core strategy of both de facto and, now, de jure annexation.

This is a long way from the constantly shifting so-called middle ground between Palestinian rights and whatever Israel wishes to do. For the past three decades, every round of negotiations has simply asked the Palestinians to accommodate Israel’s latest spoils. Sanders, by contrast, supports the establishment of a Palestinian state, including the West Bank.