Under the terms of the bill it will be a civil offence to back an anti-Israel boycott, be it consumer, academic or cultural; and initiators of a boycott will be subject to litigation. The law also prevents the government doing business with any company that initiates or complies with boycotts.

However, the legality of the boycott law is likely to be challenged as early as Tuesday when opponents will present petitions to Israel’s Supreme Court. Ahead of the parliamentary vote, Eyal Yinon, the Knesset’s legal adviser, ruled that the bill was “borderline illegal.”

Supporters said the bill was meant to counter attempts to delegitimize Israel.