More than 107,000 people in Britain have signed a petition for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be arrested after the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in 2014. Around 300 people protested on 9 September in central London near Downing Street against a visit of the controversial PM to Britain, weaving flags and Free Palestine banners.
Nineteen-year-old Palestinian-born British citizen Sara Elkateep explained her reason to join the protest: Ive come here to make sure that Netanyahu knows hes unwelcome and that we are very unhappy with the fact that our prime minister is dealing with such a terrorist country that constantly bombs Gaza, West Bank, constantly builds settlements on Palestinian land.
Minor scuffles between pro-Palestine demonstrators and police broke out as the protesters marched into the main road outside Downing Street.
Near by, in a separate cordoned-off area, some pro-Israel demonstrators staged a protest in support of the Israeli state.
Arieh Miller, the executive director of the Zionist Federation accused the pro-Palestinian protesters of anti-semitism: If I disagree with Prime Minister Cameron, that doesnt make me anti-British. That is me having a political view. Disagreeing with Netanyahu − there is nothing wrong with that at all, but disagreeing with the simple existence of the only Jewish state in the world − that is where I draw the line.
Britain has announced visiting heads of state have immunity from legal process and thus Netanyahu cannot be arrested.
