New Zealand has restored diplomatic relations with Israel after Prime Minister Bill English wrote a letter which expressed regret for the fallout caused by a UN Security Council resolution.

Israel recalled its ambassador from New Zealand in December in response to New Zealand's co-sponsoring of the resolution, which condemned Israel's continued settlements.

The Jerusalem Post has reported that English wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu several days ago, saying he "regretted the damage done to Israel-New Zealand relations as a result of New Zealand proposing Resolution 2334 at the Security Council".

The letter came after a phone conservation between the two leaders.

After receiving the letter, Netanyahu directed officials to tell the New Zealand Government that Israel had decided to "end the crisis", the Post reported.

Israel is now planning to send its ambassador Itzhak Gerberg back to Wellington, bringing to an end a six-month diplomatic crisis.

Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee confirmed this morning that diplomatic ties had been restored.

Speaking to the Herald in the Cook Islands, Brownlee said Netanyahu had instructed his foreign ministry to "end the stand-off with New Zealand".

"Israel is a country that's been a friend of New Zealand for a very long time," he said.

"We're supportive of the fact that they are a democratically-elected government, which in that part of the world is not all that usual."

Asked whether New Zealand was weakening its position on Israeli settlements by sending the letter, Brownlee said it did not amount to an apology.

"We're not apologising for anything. We're simply saying that friends who are estranged can't talk about these matters. So being able to discuss them is important."

Brownlee added that any solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict would come from the two countries working together, "not from any external pressure".

Asked whether New Zealand also expressed regret about its co-sponsorship of the resolution, Brownlee said: "There was a discussion that I wasn't party to, obviously.

"What we said was that we very much regret the fallout that occurred and that diplomatic relations were broken for a time."

Green Party foreign affairs spokesman Kennedy Graham said English's apology showed that New Zealand did not have an independent foreign policy.

English was guided by trade and not principle on the international stage, he said.

"It shows a lack of moral strength from Bill English to waver on a legitimate, principled stance as soon as a country like Israel throws its weight around.

""These illegal settlements make it harder and harder for there to be peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Every new settlement takes away productive land from Palestinians and increases resentment."

The resolution, which was also sponsored by Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela, said Israeli settlements violated international law and undermined a two-state solution in Israel's conflict with Palestine.

It was passed 14-0 at the last council meeting of the year, and New Zealand's last meeting in its two-year term as an elected member of the Security Council.