Israel bars entry to British activist over BDS support

Jerusalem: A British activist who advocates boycotting Israel over its occupation of Palestinian territory has been denied entry to the country, authorities said Monday.

Hugh Lanning, head of the London-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign, was denied entry on Sunday night at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv over his "ongoing actions to promote boycotts against Israel," a statement from the immigration authority said.

He flew back to London on Monday morning, authority spokeswoman Sabin Hadad said. "The organisation Mr. Lanning heads is one of the leading anti-Israel delegitimisation and BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) organisations in Britain, and one of the largest in Europe," a joint statement from the immigration authority and the strategic affairs ministry said.

It also accused Lanning of maintaining ties to leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip. Lanning's organisation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Israel has carried out a campaign against calls to boycott it over its 50-year occupation of Palestinian territory. It sees the boycott movement as a strategic threat and accuses it of anti-Semitism, a claim that activists deny, saying they only want to see the occupation end.

Last week, Israel's parliament adopted a law barring entry to foreigners who support boycotting the country, a move denounced by human rights groups and the opposition as "thought control" harmful to the country's international standing.

Lanning was however not stopped due to the new law but instead on the discretion of Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, who can bar those they see as working to harm Israel, Hadad said.

Israeli politicians have become more combative against BDS activists under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's current coalition government, seen as the most right-wing in the country's history.