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JERUSALEM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel's parliament approved on Monday night a law to prohibit boycott supporters from entering the country.
Under the new law, foreign nationals who publicly support the campaign for boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel could be barred from entering the country.
The Knesset (parliament) passed the controversial law with 46 lawmakers voting in favor and 28 voting against it.
Peace Now, an Israel-based settlement watch group, denounced the law as "undemocratic." The new legislation "will not prevent boycott but rather, deteriorate Israel's international standing and lead Israel towards international isolation," the group warned in a statement.
First launched in 2005, the Palestinian-led campaign calls to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Israel seized in 1967, and acknowledge the Palestinians refugees' right of return to their pre-1948 lands.
The campaign was endorsed by civil society organizations and universities throughout the world, as well as public figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters.
