A CAMPAIGN calling for Manchester council to fly the Palestinian flag has been met with a counter-petition - containing even more signatures.

The M.E.N. revealed on Friday how a petition signed by 2,500 people had been submitted to town hall chiefs demanding the flag be raised.

But now the north west Friends of Israel group has collected more than 3,000 signatures opposing the idea.

The original petition dates back to last summer when protesters filled the streets of Manchester during the Gaza conflict.

Pro-Palestinian activists wanted Manchester town hall to follow the example of Preston city council, who flew the territory’s flag from their offices at the time.

They say it would be an ‘expression of solidarity’ for children killed in Gaza.

A pro-Palestine protest on Market Street

Because more than 1,000 people have signed the petition, councillors now have to publicly debate the idea later this week.

But a counter-petition may also now have to be debated by the town hall after it gathered even more support.

It says: “Whilst we live in a democracy and the freedom of debate is sacrosanct, it is inappropriate for a local council to take a stand on such a complex issue occurring in a foreign country.

“This should be left to the UK government.”

‘Much work’ has been undertaken since the summer to easy community tensions in the city following the rise in Middle Eastern hostilities, it says, a reference to clashes on King Street and Market Street at the height of last summer’s conflict.

A rally against anti-semitism held in Manchester

“To favour one side and fly the Palestinian flag would seem a retrograde step, taking us back six months and re-igniting communal divisions with the associated racial unpleasantness we witnessed,” it adds.

It makes reference to the 80pc rise in anti-semitic attacks across Greater Manchester in the last year, much of it fuelled by the situation in Gaza.

It directly asks council leader Sir Richard Leese, chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein and city centre council spokesman Pat Karney to reject the plan.

It is unclear whether the town hall will have to debate this petition too - as it has not been submitted through its own website, but through change.org.

The council is now checking its policy and deciding what steps to take.