Israeli government to push bill barring boycott supporters from country: Report

Israeli politicians are reportedly planning to push a bill in the coming weeks that would ban individuals who have supported boycotts on Israel from entering the country.

The law, if passed, would likely apply to those who have called for boycotts of products produced in Israeli settlements, Haaretz reported.

Israeli MP Yinon Magal of the Habayit Hayehudi party proposed similar legislation in the Knesset, which had the backing on Kulanu, Likud and Zionist Union parties, on Monday.

Magal, however, was urged to hold off on his bill until the country’s coalition government could formulate its own, according to Haaretz.

Magal’s bill would ban anyone who is not a permanent citizen or resident of Israel from entering the country if their company, organisation or foundation calls for a boycott of Israel.

“In recent years, calls for boycotting Israel have intensified,” says Magal’s bill. “It seems that this is a new front of war against Israel, which the country has yet to sufficiently prepare for.”

News of the apparent plan for a coalition-backed bill come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered the ministerial commitee for legislation to hold off on discussing a second bill on Monday that would see political parties cut off from public funding if a party member called for the boycott of Israel or settlement products.

The bill, now scheduled to be debated in two weeks, had been submitted by Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman. It comes after several parties, including Hadash and Meretz, have expressed support for boycotts of settlement products in recent months.

In June, Hadash said it would support a boycott of products from West Bank settlements, while Meretz submitted a bill in May calling for manufacturers to label where a product was made, including settlements.

Lieberman said he was told half an hour before the committee met that debate of his bill had been postponed. "This is regretfully very typical of the prime minister," he told Haaretz.