Benjamin Netanyahu has warmly welcomed the controversial Philippine president, who once compared himself to Hitler, adding to mounting criticism of the Israeli prime minister’s close ties with authoritarian world leaders.

Rodrigo Duterte, who is in Israel for a four-day tour, is the first Philippine leader to visit the country since the two nations established diplomatic relations 60 years ago.

The firebrand president is expected to sign a major oil deal with Israel and to purchase Israeli arms, during the short tour in which he has been accompanied by an entourage of security forces.

Mr Duterte has faced widespread criticism for his deadly crackdown on drugs back home which has left thousands dead and for several foul-mouthed comments, including comparing his war on drugs to the Holocaust, and most recently joking about rape.

Despite the many controversies, on Monday Mr Netanyahu highlighted the two country’s historical friendship, including the Philippines’ decision to vote in favour of Israel’s establishment in 1947, becoming the only Asian country to do so.

“We remember our friends and that friendship has blossomed over the years and especially over the last few years,” Mr Netanyahu said, after signing three agreements on trade, science and care-giving.

Mr Duterte, who later visited the country’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and met top officials including President Reuven Rivlin, said they “share the same passion for peace”.

“Israel can expect any help that the Philippines can extend,” he added.

We remember our friends and that friendship has blossomed over the years and especially over the last few years Benjamin Netanyahu

The Philippines has enjoyed increasingly strong ties with Israel over the years. In December it abstained from a vote at the United Nations General Assembly rebuking the US for moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Washington’s controversial decision recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite the fact it is contested city claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians.

The Philippine president is also seeking new sources of military hardware and emerged as a significant new customer in 2017 for Israel, with sales of radar and anti-tank equipment worth $21m.

Mr Netanyahu has been praised for forging ties with new allies abroad, where Israel has often lost support for its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

However, in recent months the Israeli leader has come under fire for the choice of those partners.

Mr Duterte’s visit comes just weeks after Netanyahu welcomed Viktor Orban, Hungary’s four-time prime minister who was criticised last year for praising Miklos Horthy, Hungary’s World War II-era ruler and a Nazi collaborator.

Mr Orban was also accused of employing anti-Semitic tropes against George Soros, a Jewish Hungarian-American billionaire philanthropist, during his re-election campaign. During Mr Orban’s visit to Israel in July, Mr Netanyahu praised him for combatting anti-semitism.

Mr Netanyahu was also criticised for striking a deal with Polish President Andrzej Duda over his country’s controversial Holocaust speech law, which would have criminalised blaming the Polish nation for crimes committed against Jews during World War II.

Mr Duterte, who assumed power 2016, did little to assuage fears on Sunday when he kicked off his four-day tour of Israel with a rambling expletive-ladened speech to members of the Filipino community in Jerusalem.

During the hour-long talk he justified comments made on Thursday that the high rape rate in a Philippine city was due to the number of “beautiful women”. And he apologised for calling former US president Barack Obama a “son of a whore”.

Rape joke made by Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte defended by spokesperson

In 2016, Mr Duterte drew worldwide anger when he said he would kill as many drug addicts as Hitler did Jews, adding “I’d be happy to slaughter them”.

In the same speech he had also claimed three million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, half the number agreed by historians. The president later apologised, saying he had been misunderstood.

But his comments were not forgotten in Israel. Left-leaning daily Haaretz on Monday published an editorial headlined “A Hitler admirer at Yad Vashem,” while The Times of Israel asked why Israel was “opening its doors” to Mr Duterte in a piece entitled “this man has no place in our country”. Left-wing politicians, meanwhile, questioned why Mr Netanyahu wanted to “whitewash an illegitimate leader”.

He “took pride in massacring his citizens and violating human rights… so why?” Tamar Zandberg, head of the leftist Meretz party, wrote on Facebook.

“Because Duterte is willing to support the occupation (of the West Bank),” she said.

The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Show all 9 1 /9 The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On killing drug addicts “These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, don’t go into that, even if you’re a policeman, because I will really kill you. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful” The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Message to China “I will go there on my own with a Jet Ski, bringing along with me a [Phillipino] flag and a pole, and once I disembark, I will plant the flag on the runway and tell the Chinese authorities, ‘Kill me’ ” AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Christmas message to law-breakers “If you do not want to stop, and just continue committing crimes, then this would be your last Merry Christmas” AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On sex life “I was separated from my wife. I’m not impotent. What am I supposed to do? Let this hang forever? When I take Viagra, it stands up” AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On the drugs trade “None of my children are into illegal drugs. But my order is, even if it is a member of my family, ‘kill him'" AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting the Pope “We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the pope. I wanted to call him: ‘Pope, son of a wh**e, go home. Do not visit us again’” AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Joke about rape “I saw her face and I thought, 'What a pity... they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first” AFP/Getty The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting Barack Obama "Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at me about the killings, or son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum" REUTERS The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants "If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans. I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you. If you annoy me to the fullest... I will eat you alive. Raw" EPA

On Wednesday, Mr Duterte is set to inaugurate a memorial near Tel Aviv commemorating the Philippines’ acceptance of 1,300 Jews fleeing the Holocaust.

“We assign great importance to this visit, which symbolises the strong, warm ties between our two peoples as well as the enormous potential for developing and strengthening the relations,” Israel’s foreign ministry said.

Mr Duterte heads to Jordan on 5 September, where he is expected to meet King Abdullah II.