JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's ministry of strategic affairs says it has denied a prominent British boycott activist's entry into the country.

Revital Yakin-Karkovsky, a senior ministry official, said on Monday that Hugh Lanning of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign was prohibited from entering Israel. She says his organization had close ties to the Hamas militant group and was one of the leading forces seeking to delegitimize Israel.

Israel's parliament recently passed a law barring entry to supporters of the boycott movement. The measure drew fierce criticism from dovish groups and officials struggled to explain how it would be enforced.

But the law has yet to take effect and Yakin-Karkovsky says Lanning was barred based on existing policies.

Minister Gilad Erdan says the "rules of the game have changed" for those seeking the country harm.