Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Europe to support Israel and fight extremism, ahead of his meeting with David Cameron.

Before boaRding his plane to London he said: “Europe needs to support Israel, not pressure Israel and not attack Israel, but support Israel, which is the only true protection Europe has in the Middle East against surging extremist Islam.

“We are prepared to act together with Europe in Africa and other places to fight extremist Islam but this requires a change of approach. This change will take time but we will implement it.”

He added: “The second thing is that we need to fight extremist Islam not only at the borders, as we are doing, but also within our territory.

“My policy is zero tolerance for terrorism and this is what we will do."

Mr Netanyahu arrives in the UK today and is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister tomorrow. He will also meet communal leaders.

There were scuffles and arrests in Whitehall this morning as anti-Israel activists protested against Mr Netanyahu’s visit.