An online petition that is calling for the British government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attracted more than 40,000 signatures in a few days with campaigners hoping public support for the proposal could force a debate on the subject in parliament. “Under worldwide law he should be arrested for war crimes upon arrival in the United Kingdom for the massacre of over 2000 civilians in 2014”.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that the country signed a major agreement with an energy consortium, which includes American firm Noble Energy Inc. and local company Delek Group, for natural gas production development in the Mediterranean Sea. The supposed arrest would take place during Netanyahu’s visit to the UK next month.
The petition published on the UK parliament’s website is expected to be open to collect signatures until February 7, 2016.
Much like petitions filed on the White House website, the government is required to respond once a certain number of people have signed.
In a report dated July 29, Amnesty global revealed that after gathering evidence, it appears the Israeli forces committed indiscriminate attacks which led to the killing of scores of Gaza civilians in their homes in Rafah during last year’s offensive.
It is reported that British law compels the government to respond since the petition received over 10,000 signatures. According to UN estimates, some 2,200 Palestinians, including over 550 children, died during the offensive. The petition must collect 100,000 signatures to be considered in parliament.
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“Earlier this year, Israeli diplomats scrambled to secure immunity for former IDF chief and defense minister Shaul Mofaz just prior to his trip to London for a defense conference“.
