Attempts by Israeli authorities to stop Dublin Lord Mayor Mícheál Mac Donncha from entering the territory failed, due to an apparent typo in his name.
Israeli daily paper Haaretz said authorities barred him from entering while he was already in the West Bank city of Ramallah, having flown in through Tel Aviv.
It said he was barred "in light of his ties to movements boycotting Israel."
The Interior Ministry claimed it was provided with the wrong name, but the Strategic Affairs Ministry said his name was spelled correctly.
Israel's Interior Minister Arye Dery said his office would investigate what happened.
However, the Lord Mayor confirmed he was in Ramallah and preparing for a conference.
I can confirm I am in Ramallah and preparing for tomorrow's conference. https://t.co/b8LVLF193y
— Lord Mayor of Dublin (@LordMayorDublin) April 10, 2018
It is reported he will be barred from future entry into Israel.
The attempt to bar the Lord Mayor relates to a Dublin City Council vote to support economic sanctions against Israel, including a boycott of certain Israeli goods.
The motion, passed by councillors on Monday night, noted that the council "fully supports and endorses" the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for freedom, equality and justice.
Israeli authorities say Ireland's @LordMayorDublin, Mícheál Mac Donncha, has been denied entrance to the country earlier today due to the anti-boycott (#BDS) regulations. The accusations made by the Ministry of Strategic Affairs refer mainly to ties with @ipsc48
— Noa Landau (@noa_landau) April 10, 2018
The BDS movement targets Israel over its occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands.
The motion also called for the council to discontinue business contracts with technology manufacturer Hewlett Packard (HP).
The global IT company is one of the main suppliers of IT systems equipment and services to the Israeli military and security sectors.
Attempts to contact the Israeli embassy in Dublin for comment were not successful at original time of publication.
