Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg said on Tuesday that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carries out his plan to annex settlements in the West Bank he would if elected ensure no US taxpayer funds support the move.

​”If Prime Minister Netanyahu makes good on his threat to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a President Buttigieg would take steps to ensure that American taxpayers won’t help foot the bill​,” he said during a speech at Indiana University.

Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., said that in the same way an American patriot can criticize the policies of an American president, an ally of Israel should be able to oppose the actions of its government.

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​”​Especially when we see increasingly disturbing signs that the Netanyahu government is turning away from peace​,” he said.

Buttigieg said both Israelis and Palestinians should be able to “enjoy the freedom to go about their daily lives without fear, and to work to achieve economic well-being for their families.​”​

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He said his administration would support a two-state solution ​to the conflict ​that ​”​achieves legitimate Palestinian aspirations and meets Israel’s security needs remains the only viable way forward, and it will be our policy to support such a solution actively.​”

Netanyahu proposed annexing the settlements in April if elected to a fourth term.

​“I’m going to apply sovereignty, but I don’t distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlement points, because from my perspective, every such point of settlement is Israeli,” ​Netanyahu said. “We have a responsibility as the Israeli government. I won’t uproot anyone and I won’t place them under Palestinian sovereignty. I’ll look out for everyone.”

​About 2.8 million Palestinians live in the West Bank along with more than ​400,000 Jewish settlers.