Alaa Tartir, programme director at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, said what might appear to be a sudden Israeli push back is, in fact, a strategy that started with the first intifada when Palestinians called for Israeli boycotts. The country has dedicated budgets and teams to combatting BDS for years because officials believe it poses a serious threat, Tartir said.

"Israel genuinely believes that the BDS movement is successful in exposing it and its occupation and apartheid structures globally, and had an impact on the international consciousness," he said.

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