Israel PM announces major offshore gas deal

JLC chairman Mick Davis said: ”The Jewish Leadership Council will proudly welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu on his important visit to the United Kingdom in September”. The petitioners demand Netanyahu to be arrested for war crimes.

Last summer, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, a bloody war against Gaza that killed about 2,300 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom were civilians, including over 500 children.

The attack crippled Gaza’s infrastructure and left over 500,000 people homeless or displaced.

For parliament petitions, the government must respond when the petition reaches 10,000 signatures. If it surpasses 100,000, Parliament could debate the issue.

Back in Israel, Foreign Ministry officials are playing down the significance of the e-petition, calling it nothing more than a publicity stunt.

In 2011, under former prime minister Gordon Brown, a law was amended to make it hard to obtain arrest warrants against Israeli figures visiting the UK in an official capacity.

The British foreign office dismissed the move as “a PR exercise with no real meaning”. Thousands of Brits have called for the arrest of Netanyahu during his upcoming visit to Gaza.

“The bilateral relations between Britain and Israel are closer than ever”, the ministry said in a statement, highlighting data that shows the doubling of trade between the two countries in recent years as well as “fruitful” academic, cultural, and scientific cooperation.

Previously, the law allowed complaints of alleged war crimes committed elsewhere to be lodged against military personnel even if they were not British citizens. Former Israeli minister of justice Tzipi Livni evaded several attempts to arrest her while visiting the UK.