The Knesset on Wednesday approved a law forbidding the entry to Israel of foreign nationals who have denied the Holocaust or the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The legislation also denies entry to those who support the international prosecution of Israeli citizens for their actions serving in the state’s security forces.
Twelve Knesset members voted in favor of the bill, in its third and final reading, with no objections or abstentions.
“The State of Israel, like any other country in the world, must protect itself, its citizens, its soldiers, and its national identity,” Arutz Sheva quoted New Hope Party lawmaker Michel Buskila, the legislation’s sponsor, as saying,
“Many countries around the world prohibit the entry of hostile elements who seek to harm their security forces. Israel is a democratic state, but it is not naive. Those who support the State of Israel—will be welcomed with respect. Those who try to undermine our very existence, deny the horrors of the past, or harm our soldiers and citizens—there is no place for them among us,” Buskila said.
The explanatory notes to the bill stated, “In order to prevent hostile elements from operating within the country’s territory to promote harm against it, its citizens, its officials, its security, its foreign relations, and its trade ties, it is proposed to establish additional grounds, as detailed below, under which no visa or residence permit of any kind shall be granted to anyone who is not an Israeli citizen or a permanent resident.”
The new law expands on an existing ban that prohibits the entry of those who support economic boycotts on the Jewish state, such as the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
