A petition, signed by over 85,000 people, which calls for Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested for "war crimes" is "completely absurd," senior Conservative MP has said.
Netanyahu, who is visiting the UK in September, "should be arrested for war crimes upon arrival...for the massacre of over 2000 civilians" during the fighting in Gaza last summer, the petition claims.
However Sir Eric Pickles, a senior Tory MP and leading member of Conservative Friends of Israel, denounced it saying: "The petition will have no impact upon the UK-Israel relationship which is stronger than ever and prime minister Netanyahu's forthcoming visit will enhance it further".
The Israeli Embassy called the petition a "meaningless publicity stunt."
"The relationship between the Israeli and UK governments has never been closer," an embassy spokesman said. "Mutual trade has doubled over recent years, while academic, scientific and cultural cooperation is constantly growing."
"Under international law [Netanyahu] should be arrested for war crimes upon arrival in the UK for the massacre of over 2000 civilians in 2014," the organiser of the petition, Damian Moran, wrote.
"I honestly don't expect him to get arrested because of the universal jurisdiction laws. [The government] will just say 'blah blah blah, universal jurisdiction, good luck'," he later told al-Jazeera.
"It is a clear message to him that there's a massive amount of people who don't want him here."
Should the petition reach 100,000 signatures, it must be considered for debate in Parliament.
After it received 10,000 signatures, the Government was required to make a formal response.
"We were all deeply saddened by the violence", it read. "However the Prime Minister was clear on the UK's recognition of Israel's right to take proportionate action to defend itself, within the boundaries of international humanitarian law."
"I welcome the Government's unambiguous response which reiterates its support for Israel's right to self-defence and condemnation of Hamas's terrorist tactics," Pickles said.
Seven Israeli citizens died in the fighting on the Gaza strip last year compared to over 2,000 Palestinians.
