Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is receiving flak for making taxpayers shoulder the $127,000 bill for a custom-built bedroom he had requested for the flight that took him and his entourage to London to attend the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The $127,000 was for a double bed, part of the $300,000 cost of chartering an El Al Boeing 767 jet. Aboard the 5 ½-hour flight were the PM, his wife, aides and bodyguards.

When reports of the exorbitant expenditure came out in media, Israelis protested using social media and mainstream newspapers amid plans by the Netanyahu administration to raise taxes.

A sample of the rage raised by the expense is an article in Yedioth Ahronoth, the country's biggest newspaper, is an article by political commentator Sima Kadmon who wrote, "Where is the shame? ... Bibi is king, and in a monarchy, when the king and queen fly, price is no object."

The PM's office said Mr Netanyahu was not aware of the extra cost by installing the double bed and partition in the chartered aircraft. While the office said the PM was entitled to a good night's sleep on an overnight trip after a long, busy day, it said similar frills would no longer be added on the PM's future trips.

About 4,000 Israelis have signed a petition in a Facebook page asking Mr Nethanyahu to pay the $127,000 bill out of his pocket. It is not the first time that Mr Netanyahu has been criticised for his spending habits.

In the early part of 2012, Israelis were angered upon finding out that the PM's yearly budget includes a $2,700 allocation for Mr Netanyahu's favourite ice cream flavours. That allocation was eventually scrapped after it caused public uproar.

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