Sanders, who is Jewish, said Monday at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire that he believes the United States should "deal with the Middle East on a level-playing-field basis," and not express support for just one country.
The senator from Vermont says he is "not anti-Israel" - nor does he oppose sending military aid to the Jewish State - but feels Netanyahu's policies don't help to advance peace.
"As a young man I spent a number of months in Israel, worked on a Kibbutz for while, I have family in Israel, I am not anti-Israel but the fact of the matter is that Netanyahu is a right-wing politician who I think is treating the Palestinian people extremely unfairly," Sanders said as the audience erupted in applause and cheers.
Sanders then added that he is "100% pro-Israel" and that the country has "every right in the world to exist and to exist in peace and security and not be subjected to terrorists' attacks."