Government confirms it will ban Israel boycotts by councils and public bodies

“As Brexit goes ahead, we will continue to be in contact with Ministers to ensure that Britain’s anti-terror measures remain robust as we leave the EU’s umbrella on such matters.

"We also welcome the Government’s cross-party approach to social care helping to build a durable solution to this crisis.”

Luke Akehurst, director of We Stand For Israel, said: "We urge people who want to see peace between Israel and the Palestinians to seek out the many productive and positive ways to pursue their activism and abandon the toxic prejudice of boycotts against Israel."

A spokesperson for Yachad, whic  said: "“As British Jews who love Israel and care for the security of our community, we are committed to fighting all forms of antisemitism, racism and bigotry. We recognize that antisemitism can be disguised as anti-Israel or pro-Israel political views.

“We believe the tactics employed by the BDS movement are misguided and wrong. However, any proposal to ban public bodies from engaging with those who express support for BDS risks harming the right to free speech, whilst doing little to combat antisemitism or defend Israel.

“As an organisation that supports democratic principles and believes in the power of debate, we support freedom of speech. We strongly believe that the basic right to nonviolent protest must be secured. We are worried that an outright ban of a broad range of nonviolent criticism will not combat BDS or make our community safer, nor will it make Israel more secure."