Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived at Admiralty House in Sydney at the beginning of a historic four-day tour.
Mr Netanyahu, the first sitting Israeli Prime Minister to visit Australia, was welcomed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove.
His plane landed in Sydney early this morning. He has brought with him a business delegation of about 25 Israeli executives and entrepreneurs, particularly from the hi-tech industry.
Major deals involving cybersecurity and technology are expected to be signed in the next four days.
The visit is not without opposition.
Sixty prominent Australians, including former Commonwealth Solicitor-General Gavan Griffiths and former Federal Court judge Murray Willcox, have signed a letter opposing the visit.
They say the visit should not be going ahead because the policies of the Netanyahu government “provoke, intimidate and oppress” the Palestinian people.
About 2.9 million Palestinians live in the West Bank which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967.
Since then, about 500,000 Israeli settlers have moved into East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Israel claims this is legal while Palestinians say that under international law it is illegal for an occupying country to transfer civilian population into occupied territory.
Previously, Israel has said it would be prepared to agree to a Palestinian state if its security could be guaranteed while Palestinians have claimed that Israel is not serious about an agreement because it wants to claim land in the West Bank.
In 1947, the United Nations, in a motion supported by Australia, voted for the creation of a Jewish state alongside an Arab State in what had been British-mandate Palestine.
Read the full article by John Lyons and Rosie Lewis at The Australian (subscription only).