Clinton, Sanders get serious about Israel and Palestine during debate

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had a back and forth about Israel and Palestine Thursday during the CNN Democratic debate, with Sanders questioning Israel's use of force and Clinton touting her previous interactions with leaders from both sides.

Sanders described himself as "100 percent pro-Israel" and said there was "no debate" that the country "has a right to live in peace and security without fear of terrorist attacks." But in order to "bring peace to that region," the Palestinians are going to have to be treated with "respect and dignity," he said, later adding that people need to recognize that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not always right.

Clinton brought up that she was behind the last three meetings between the president of the Palestinian Authority and the prime minister of Israel, and negotiated the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in November 2012. It's important to continue to do "everything we can to try to reach a two-state solution that would give the Palestinians the rights and autonomy they deserve," she said. Clinton told Sanders that "describing the problem is a lot easier than trying to solve it," and said during negotiations she was always "absolutely focused on what we needed to do to make sure the Palestinian people have the right to self-govern."

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