Israel has banned Green Party leader Zack Polanski from entering the country after the party approved a motion at its conference declaring "Zionism is racism".

In a statement on Sunday, Israel accused the Green Party of England and Wales of legitimising "the destruction of the State of Israel".

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the resolution, which also advocates for a one-state solution in historic Palestine, “constitutes a clear antisemitic text according to the IHRA definition, as it denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination”.

“Therefore, as a first step, foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has decided this evening to declare Green Party leader Zack Polanski barred from entering Israel,” it said.

According to Israel's Law of Return, persons with at least one Jewish grandparent, and their spouses, have a legal right to enter, reside in, and acquire citizenship of, the State of Israel.