Israel probing how pro-boycott Irish mayor came despite ban

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territory – Israeli authorities are investigating how Dublin Mayor Michael Mac Donncha arrived in the country despite instructions to bar his entry.

Interior Minister Arieh Deri ordered an inquiry Wednesday after Mac Donncha announced he was in the West Bank city of Ramallah for a conference after landing at Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport. Israel had aimed to block his entry because of his support for the BDS movement that advocates boycotts against it.

Israel says the campaign, with its call for a return of Palestinian refugees to land inside Israel, goes beyond opposition to the West Bank occupation and masks a deeper aim of destroying the country.

Deri says upon his departure Mac Donncha will be notified that he won’t be allowed back. Mac Donncha says he knows of no ban on him.