Julie Bishop with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - SEPTEMBER 4: (ISRAEL-OUT) In this handout photo provided by the Israel Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at the Prime Minister's Office on September 4, 2016 in Jerusalem, Israel. Bishop is visiting Israel and the Palestinian Territories from 3 to 5 September. (Photo by Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty Images)

Netanyahu visit: Australia’s relationship with Israel and where it could go

In the past fortnight the Israeli leader has visited London and Washington DC for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and “old friend” US President Donald Trump.

His visit to Australia this week will be the first for a serving Israeli Prime Minister.

His time with Malcolm Turnbull will likely cover similar ground: the Palestinian conflict, West Bank settlements, Iran, and combatting global terror.

Anthony Bergin, from the Australian Strategic and Policy Institute, says the Israel-Australia relationship could be strengthened.

“It’s a good time for an Israeli Prime Minister to visit, and I think while we’ve got a lot of rhetoric about common values there isn’t at the moment a lot of substance,” he said.

“The relationship, in many ways is underachieving. It could be developed.”

The last time an Israeli foreign minister visited Australia was in 1976, so what has prompted this visit from Benjamin Netanyahu?

“The ‘why’ I think comes back to common values around democracy, around shared support for human rights (and) recognition of the plight of Jewish people after the war,” Mr Bergin said.

“Obviously the relationship between the two countries has always been warm. Australia has always been seen by the Israelis as a friendly country.”

Read the full article by Omar Dabagh at SBS.