Australia has recalibrated its position on Israel and Palestine to ensure only "balanced" UN resolutions receive its support, says Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop.

Australia this month abstained from two UN General Assembly resolutions; one condemning the expansion of Jewish settlements and another calling for the Geneva Convention to apply in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Under Labor, Australia had supported the resolutions.

Ms Bishop said the shift “reflected the government's concern that Middle East resolutions should be balanced”.

“The government will not support resolutions which are one-sided and which pre-judge the outcome of final status negotiations between the two sides,” she said through a spokeswoman.

The resolution to end “all Israeli settlement activities in all of the occupied territories” was supported by 158 nations. Australia was one of only eight nations to abstain.

Australia was one of only five countries to abstain from calling for Israel to “comply scrupulously” with the 1949 Geneva Convention. The resolution was supported by 160 nations.

Julie Bishop Says Australia's Shift On Israel UN Resolutions Is A Bid For Balance