Israel supports the establishment of a Kurdish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as Kurds in Iraq gear up for a referendum on independence that lawmakers in Baghdad oppose.

Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s, viewing the minority ethnic group - whose indigenous population is split between Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran - as a buffer against shared Arab adversaries.

Other nations have been reluctant to support Kurdish independence, fearing it will introduce another source of instability into a fragile region.

On Tuesday, Iraq's Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said he would press ahead with the September 25 referendum despite a vote by Iraq's parliament rejecting it.