Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said he would work with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE if he’s elected president, voicing openness to working with a leader criticized by many Democrats.

“I would do everything I could to work with Prime Minister Netanyahu if he is in power and if I am lucky enough to serve as president, and to support the U.S.-Israel relationship,” O’Rourke said in an interview with Haaretz published Thursday.

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Several 2020 Democrats have panned Netanyahu over his policies regarding the Palestinians, with O’Rourke blasting him as “racist” in April and saying, “We must be able to transcend his current leadership.”

The Texas Democrat doubled down on his support for the two-state solution this week, noting that his potential efforts to work with Netanyahu are “not mutually exclusive to ensuring that the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people is not compromised or undermined or ended all together.”

“It is the only way that I think you achieve those goals of human dignity and security, self-determination and the safety that people should be able to depend on in their day-to-day lives,” he told Haaretz.

While the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem continues to enjoy bipartisan support in Washington, Netanyahu in particular has come under withering criticism from Democrats over the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The prime minister was further criticized for his recent decision to block Reps. Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarOmar urges Democrats to focus on nonvoters over 'disaffected Trump voters' Omar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' MORE (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi TlaibTrump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' George Conway: 'Trump is like a practical joke that got out of hand' Pelosi endorses Kennedy in Massachusetts Senate primary challenge MORE (D-Mich.) from visiting Israel over the support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Across the aisle, Netanyahu has seen his stock among the GOP rise due to his close relationship with President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE. Jerusalem scored significant wins after Trump declared last year the U.S. would move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the capital city and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights this year.