Bernie Sanders has called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “reactionary racist”, while saying he supports Israel during the latest Democratic debate.

Mr Sanders, who is one of the frontrunners in the contest, said he was “very proud” to be Jewish when he was asked about his position on Israel during the debate in Charleston, South Carolina.

“I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel through Bibi Netanyahu you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country,” he added.

Mr Sanders said Israel’s independence and security should be protected, but that “you cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

He also suggested he would consider reversing president Trump’s May 2018 decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The embassy move was met with international criticism for recognising the contested city as Israel’s undivided capital when Palestinians have long demanded East Jerusalem as their capital of a future independent state.

East Jerusalem was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognised by most countries but endorsed by president Donald Trump’s Middle East plan.

Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Show all 18 1 /18 Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan TOPSHOT - Palestinian demonstrators chant slogans and wave Palestinian flags as they stand by flaming tyres during a protest against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal in Gaza City on January 28, 2020. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images) MAHMUD HAMS AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration in the West Bank against the expected peace plan proposal AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announce Trump's Middle East peace plan in the White House AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinians protest as smoke rises from burning tires ahead of the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump of his long-delayed Mideast peace plan, in Gaza City January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY MOHAMMED SALEM Reuters Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian demonstrators chant slogans as they stand by flaming tyres during a protest against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip . - Palestinians staged protests against US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, hours before it was to be unveiled in Washington. Thousands demonstrated in Gaza, burning pictures of Trump and the American flag, while further rallies were planned for the coming days. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images) SAID KHATIB AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters wave the national flag during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 28, 2020, against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal. - Palestinians staged protests against US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, hours before it was to be unveiled in Washington. Thousands demonstrated in Gaza, burning pictures of Trump and the American flag, while further rallies were planned for the coming days. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images) AHMAD GHARABLI AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up while listening to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address a joint news conference to discuss a new Middle East peace plan proposal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid BRENDAN MCDERMID Reuters Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan epa08172847 Palestinians chant slogans during a protest against the so-called 'Deal of the Century', planned by Trump to solve the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, in the streets of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 28 January 2020. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER MOHAMMED SABER EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan epa08172814 A Palestinian holds a banner reading in Arabic 'down with the deal of century' as people protest against the deal planned by Trump to solve the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, in the streets of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 28 January 2020. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER MOHAMMED SABER EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters burn pictures of US President Donald Trump during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 28, 2020, against the expected peace plan proposal. - Palestinians staged protests against US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, hours before it was to be unveiled in Washington. Thousands demonstrated in Gaza, burning pictures of Trump and the American flag, while further rallies were planned for the coming days. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images) AHMAD GHARABLI AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters wave the national flag during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 28, 2020, against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal. - Palestinians staged protests against US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, hours before it was to be unveiled in Washington. Thousands demonstrated in Gaza, burning pictures of Trump and the American flag, while further rallies were planned for the coming days. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images) AHMAD GHARABLI AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan epa08172866 Palestinians set fire during a protest against the so-called 'Deal of the Century', planned by Trump to solve the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, in the streets of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 28 January 2020. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER MOHAMMED SABER EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan epa08172871 Palestinians chant slogans during a protest against the so-called 'Deal of the Century', planned by Trump to solve the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, in the streets of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 28 January 2020. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER MOHAMMED SABER EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan epa08172842 Palestinians protesters burn a poster depicting US President Donald Trump during a protest against the so-called 'Deal of the Century', planned by Trump to solve the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, in the streets of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 28 January 2020. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER MOHAMMED SABER EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian demonstrators chant slogans as they stand by flaming tyres during a protest against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip . - Palestinians staged protests against US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, hours before it was to be unveiled in Washington. Thousands demonstrated in Gaza, burning pictures of Trump and the American flag, while further rallies were planned for the coming days. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images) SAID KHATIB AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters wave the national flag and a portrait of president Mahmud Abbas during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 28, 2020, against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal. - Palestinians staged protests against US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, hours before it was to be unveiled in Washington. Thousands demonstrated in Gaza, burning pictures of Trump and the American flag, while further rallies were planned for the coming days. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images) AHMAD GHARABLI AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinians chant slogans as they demonstrate outside the local government headquarters in Tulkarmm, west of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on January 28, 2020 against US President Donald Trump's expected peace plan proposal. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images) JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters chant angry slogans during a protest against the U.S. Mideast peace plan, in Gaza City, Monday, Jan. 28, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to unveil his administration's much-anticipated Mideast peace plan in the latest U.S. venture to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Khalil Hamra AP

Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Mr Sanders’s comment on the embassy was “horrifying”.

Speaking to Israel’s Army Radio, Mr Katz said Mr Sanders had a history of “attacking” the identity and national security of Israel.

He added: “Naturally, people who support Israel will not support someone who goes against these things.”

His comments come a few days after he raised his concerns about AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobby group, tweeting on Sunday that it provides a platform “for leaders who express bigotry”.

He added that he would not be attending this year’s AIPAC conference as a result.

Mr Sanders is not alone in claiming that Mr Netanyahu is racist.

Beto O’Rourke, who was then a Democratic presidential candidate, described Mr Netanyahu as a “racist” in April last year, saying he was an obstacle to peace in the Middle East.

Shortly before the Israeli election in September 2019, Mr Netanyahu’s Facebook page was sanctioned for hate speech after one of its post warned against a government composed of “Arabs who want to destroy us all – women, children and men.”

As a result, the page’s automatic chat function was disabled for 24 hours.

Although he denied writing the post, Mr Netanyahu went on to call the Joint List, an alliance of Arab political parties, a “terrorist-supporting fifth column” in November. The Joint List became the third-largest faction in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, after the 2015 elections.

His government also introduced the “nation-state” law in 2018, which controversially states that “the right to exercise national self-determination” in Israel is “unique to the Jewish people,” and demoted Arabic as an official language.

Critics denounced the law as racist.