Maldives parliament committee advances Israel passport ban

The amendments to the immigration law proposed by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Meekail Naseem had been sent to the national security services committee on June 10 last year. 

Concluding the stalled review process, the committee forwarded the bill to the floor with a new provision proposed by Hulhudhoo MP Mohamed Shahid, which reads: “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 shall be prohibited.” 

A provision that sought to bar entry to all Israeli citizens regardless of whether they hold dual nationality was scrapped after the committee consulted the attorney general. 

In comments sent to the legislation, the Maldives Immigration informed the committee that it lacked the means to confirm dual citizenship when a visitor presents their passport at border control. The department recommended restricting the ban to tourists who present Israeli passports, a change that it suggested was necessary to “achieve the purpose of the bill within Immigration’s jurisdiction.” 

A large portion of the Israeli population holds dual citizenship with passports of other countries such as Argentina and the United States.

The 25-minute discussion that followed could not be heard on the livestream as MPs spoke with their microphones turned off. The committee approved the bill when the meeting reconvened on Monday afternoon. 

The Israeli passport ban is expected to be passed today with the committee report tabled in the agenda for Tuesday’s sitting.  

Following the committee endorsement, MP Ahmed Azaan advised changing the language of the key provision to prevent Israeli soldiers and government officials from visiting the Maldives after pausing or ending the attacks in Gaza. 

In June last year, shortly after the ruling People’s National Congress supermajority decided to move forward with the bill, Attorney General Ahmed Usham told the press that the government will seek revisions to address concerns over “a lot of Palestinian citizens who hold the Israeli passport, counting in the millions.”

The bill languished in the committee since then. It was taken up again in November in the wake of public outrage over the PNC supermajority’s rejection of an opposition resolution urging swift passage of the bill. 

During the debate, some ruling party lawmakers questioned the wisdom of the proposed ban. PNC member Saudhulla Hilmy said that the Maldives could not afford to antagonize anyone by taking action that Israel’s Arab neighbors have not. Majority Leader Ibrahim Falah suggested that Palestine and Arab nations should be consulted before reaching a decision.

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim argued against a blanket ban: “That is because there are Arabs and Muslims with Israeli passports. Also, we must note that even the UN imposes sanctions on military entities and those involved in human rights violations.” 

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 former implied that powerful Jewish-owned international agencies might retaliate against the Maldives.

“We support restricting entry only for Israeli leaders, excluding the military, as this approach would address specific concerns,” Ahmed Waheed, vice president of the association, told the committee in November. 

MATATO also backed targeting specific Israeli government officials.

The government’s announcement in June last year made international headlines with some media coverage creating the false impression that a ban had already been imposed. The dramatic move earned praise but also prompted critical coverage and accusations of bigotry. A US congressman pushed legislation to cut off American aid to the Maldives.

But 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 a market share of less than one percent.