Sanders calls Netanyahu a ‘reactionary racist’ in South Carolina debate

Another feisty debate between Democratic candidates in the running to take on US President Donald Trump featured pacemaker Bernie Sanders taking aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The six Democratic candidates gathered in South Carolina on Tuesday to set out their stalls. The debate grew fractious as the group discussed domestic and foreign policy.

On the Middle East, Mr Sanders stood apart from the field in sharply criticising Mr Netanyahu. While saying he is “very proud of being Jewish”, Mr Sanders described the head of the Likud party as a “reactionary racist”.

He said the US could defend Israel, but “cannot ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people”.

On the issue of reversing Mr Trump’s decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and moving it back to Tel Aviv, Mr Sanders said he would consider doing so if he became president.

Mike Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, disagreed, saying “it was done and you will have to leave it there”.

On Syria, former mayor of South Bend, Pete Buttigieg, expressed support for the people of Idlib under bombardment from the Assad regime.

“I stand with the people of Idlib” he said, but offered no plan to resolve the humanitarian crisis that has caused more than 900,000 people to flee since December, according to the United Nations.

Elizabeth Warren, a senator for Massachusetts, called for a humanitarian response and said the US should work with allies on Idlib. She also voiced her support for withdrawing troops from the Middle East.

“We have a sacred responsibility to them and that means to not use our military to solve problems that cannot be solved militarily,” she said.

Former vice president Joe Biden was more combative in the latest debate, appealing to African American voters whose backing will be critical to give him a victory in the Palmetto state on Saturday.

“I will win South Carolina,” he said after losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Mr Biden will use a possible win there to gain momentum for the Super Tuesday states next week.

He promised to appoint the first black woman to the Supreme Court if he wins the presidency.

Asked about their mottos, Mr Biden said it was that “everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity, no matter what, no matter who they are”. Mr Sanders quoted Nelson Mandela, saying “everything is impossible until it happens”.

Mr Sanders leads in national polls, with Mr Bloomberg and Mr Biden fighting for second place. But the leftist Mr Sanders came under sustained attack from other candidates on Tuesday for praising education programmes in the Fidel Castro regime in Cuba and not being clear about funding for his healthcare plans.

Fourteen states will vote next Tuesday, encompassing 40 per cent of the US population. The Democratic candidates will try to accumulate as many delegates as possible to reach the 1,991 required to secure the nomination.