Israel banned two pro-Palestine Irish activists from entering the occupied West Bank on Friday, claiming that they planned to harass occupation forces.

Israel banned two pro-Palestine Irish activists from entering the occupied West Bank on Friday, claiming that they planned to harass the… – https://t.co/4HTcfnTQo5

— Independent Nigeria (@IndependentNGR) March 18, 2018

When the activists arrived at Ben Gurion Airport along with 25 colleagues, they underwent the usual litany of security checks.

The Israelis claimed that the two in question had been prevented from entering the occupied Palestinian territories on a previous occasion due to their participation in pro-Palestine solidarity protests.

The number of foreign activists who have been prevented from entering the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel has increased nine-fold in the past five years.

The major access to #Palestine is via Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Support BDS and your travel to Palestine travel will be denied. #Israel publishes #BDS blacklist: These are the 20 groups whose members will be denied entry https://t.co/l3XROYSfdg

— FDMillet (@FrancisDMillet) January 7, 2018

In March 2017, Israel approved a law denying entry visas to foreign nationals who publicly back or call for any kind of boycott — economic, cultural or academic — of Israel or its West Bank settlements.

In January 2018, the blacklist, including members of 20 international organizations that promote a boycott campaign of Israel, was published by the Ministry of Strategic Affairs.

(MEMO, PC, Social Media)