US Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has said he "absolutely" would consider withholding aid from Israel to pressure it to change its behaviour.

The socialist Senator was speaking after being asked if he would “ever consider using that as leverage to get the Israeli government to act differently".

Speaking on the Pod Save America podcast, he said: "I, as president, would like to sit down in a room with the leadership of Saudi Arabia, with the leadership of Iran, with the leadership of the Palestinians, with the leadership of Israel, and hammer out some damn agreements, which will try to end the conflicts that exist there forever.”

When asked to clarify his position on funding, he said: "Let me back it up before the tweets start flowing... I lived in Israel. I worked in a Kibbutz for a number of months.

"I have family in Israel. I am Jewish. I am not anti-Israel. I believe that the people of Israel absolutely have the right to live in peace, independence and security – end of discussion.

“But I think what has happened is, in recent years under Netanyahu you have an extreme right-wing government with many racist tendencies.

"The role of the United States – and this is not easy – is to try to finally bring peace to the Middle East and to treat the Palestinian people with the kind of respect and dignity they deserve.”

Senator Sanders, 77, ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 and is running again to take on Donald Trump in 2020.