Maldives bans Israel passport until "inhumane actions" end in Gaza
A digest of yesterday's top story.
16 Apr, 8:55 AM
“The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” the President’s Office said, declaring "resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause".
The move earned praise from Maldivians on social media and made headlines across international media.
The president signed off two hours after parliament unanimously passed the amendments to the immigration law proposed by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Meekail Naseem in May last year.
“Until the inhumane actions carried out by Israel against Palestinian citizens since 7 October 2023 comes to a stop, entering the Maldives with an Israeli passport is prohibited,” reads the key provision added during the committee stage.
About 10 percent of the Israeli population is estimated to hold dual nationality.
During the heated final debate during Tuesday’s sitting of parliament, Meekail accused the ruling People’s National Congress supermajority of succumbing to public pressure and adopting a half-hearted measure after keeping the bill parked for 308 days.
“What’s this committee report saying? ‘Israeli citizens are welcome, welcome, but you must come with your other passport and we’re okay with you entering the country,’” he said, questioning how the “inhumane actions” could be determined to have been paused or ended.
Hitting back, Majority Leader Ibrahim Falah criticised the failure of the MDP government with a parliamentary supermajority to take any action apart from a non-binding resolution. When the current parliament's committee consulted stakeholders, the MDP did not respond to repeated letters seeking feedback on the legislation, the PNC parliamentary group leader said.
“MDP did not submit this [bill] with the intention of banning the Israeli passport. The intention of the MDP or the MP who submitted it was that we’re not going to do this, that if we did do it this country’s economy would be demolished, this country would starve, so they could do serious damage to the country and against us politically,” Falah contended.
But the president and PNC have demonstrated solidarity with Palestine regardless of the consequences, he said.
Since opposition lawmakers did not use the opportunity to propose changes to the draft approved by the committee, “I believe they just submitted this [bill] in name, thinking we wouldn’t do this, or thinking that this couldn’t be done,” said Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim.
“But we have proven our sincerity,” he added.
The swift passage of the law came as a surprise after previous remarks by the attorney general and PNC leadership questioning the wisdom of a “blanket” ban. In November, Nazim argued in favour of a targeted ban against Israeli leaders as Falah suggested that Palestine and Arab nations should be consulted before reaching a decision.
Appearing before the committee at the time, both the National Hotels and Guesthouses Association and the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators warned that a blanket ban could severely damage the tourism industry.
The government’s announcement in June last year had also been widely reported. It was lauded in some quarters but also drew critical coverage and accusations of bigotry. A US congressman pushed legislation to cut off American aid to the Maldives.
In the meantime, Israeli tourists – predominantly surfers who started arriving after a previous ban was lifted in the early 1990s – continued to visit the Maldives. A total of 1,435 Israeli tourist arrivals were recorded in 2024. The figure stood at 236 tourists by the end of March this year.
Some 10,966 Israelis visited the Maldives in 2023, down from a peak of 15,748 tourists in 2022, representing less than one percent of tourist arrivals.
At least 51,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched the military offensive in Gaza.