Brazil's Bolsonaro meets Netanyahu in pre-vote visit to Israel

Jerusalem:  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he began a visit to Israel on Sunday, but his pledge to move his country's embassy to Jerusalem appeared to be on hold.

Netanyahu has been hoping Bolsonaro will follow through on his controversial pledge to move the embassy to the disputed city, giving the Israeli premier a boost just ahead of April 9 elections.

But Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said Brazil had decided to open a "diplomatic office" in Jerusalem -- with no further word on the embassy move.

The two leaders themselves had not spoken publicly of the embassy move or the opening of the diplomatic office as the visit got underway.

"We are making history together," Netanyahu said at an airport welcoming ceremony, adding that they had "opened a new era in relations between our two countries."

Bolsonaro said: "my government is firmly resolved to strengthen the partnership between Brazil and Israel."

"Cooperation in the areas of security and defence is also of great interest to Brazil," he said.

Bolsonaro will walk a diplomatic tightrope during the three-day visit as he seeks to shore up ties with Netanyahu while avoiding angering key Arab trade partners.

Months after promising to move the embassy -- a step already taken by US President Donald Trump -- Bolsonaro has yet to announce a timetable.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, he suggested he was in no hurry to make a decision.

"Trump took nine months to decide, to give his final word, so that the embassy was transferred," Bolsonaro said.

"Perhaps now we will open a commercial office in Jerusalem."

Moving the embassy would please Bolsonaro's evangelical Christian support base, but would also risk provoking commercial retaliation from Arab states, some of which are major importers of Brazilian meat.

The Palestinian leadership froze contacts with the White House after Trump's move.

- Western Wall visit -

Bolsonaro is expected to visit Jerusalem's Western Wall alongside Netanyahu on Monday -- a controversial move in itself.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the first high-ranking American official to visit the Western Wall, located in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, with an Israeli premier.

It could be taken as tacit approval of Israel's sovereignty over the site, one of the holiest in Judaism but directly adjacent to the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, sacred to Jews as the Temple Mount.

On Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu and Bolsonaro met at the premier's Jerusalem office and the two countries signed six agreements on areas including defence cooperation, public safety and technology.

"Brazil has taken a turn," Bolsonaro said. "Ideological issues are no longer relevant. We want to intensify our trade with everyone."

Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to visit Brazil when he travelled there for Bolsonaro's January 1 inauguration.

In their discussions then, the two right-wingers talked up their budding "brotherhood" which they said would boost military, economic, technological and agricultural cooperation.

Netanyahu is facing a tough challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz in Israel's elections, whilst also facing indictment on corruption allegations.

Pompeo's visit this month and Netanyahu's trip to the United States to meet Trump last week -- cut short due to a flare-up in the Gaza Strip -- were widely seen boosting his campaign.

He has sought to present himself as Israel's essential statesman, and Bolsonaro's visit may include similar rhetoric.

Both Netanyahu and Bolsonaro have good relations with Trump.

During the Brazilian leader's visit to Washington this month, the US president heaped praise on Bolsonaro, announcing a special relationship that he said could even see the Latin American country join NATO.

For years Bolsonaro was little more than a marginal congressman, but his Trump-like campaign in 2018, promising to combat corruption and end politics as usual, propelled him to a surprise victory.