Minister of Tourism and Environment Thoriq Ibrahim has said that banning Israeli passports in the Maldives has not yet harmed tourism. The current government banned Israeli passports in the Maldives in connection with the ongoing genocide by terrorist Israel in Gaza, Palestine. The bill to bring the 3rd amendment to the Maldives Immigration Act was passed by the PNC-majority parliament on April 15. By ratifying this bill, President Dr. Muizzu has made a decision that no previous president dared to make.
The purpose of this bill is to ban Israeli citizens from entering the Maldives with Israeli passports as a measure taken by the Maldives against the inhumane acts and genocide being carried out by Israel in Palestine. Additionally, even if someone is a dual citizen of another country, if it it is clearly evident that they are Israeli, they will not be allowed to enter the Maldives.
In a press conference, Thoriq said that there don’t seem to be any Israeli tourists in the Maldives at the moment, or if there are, the numbers are very few. “However, at this time, we are not aware of any mass campaign to not come to the Maldives being carried out by any particular group. However, there are some media reports saying that the Maldives will be harmed, it might happen, along with a lot of positive news as well.” The minister also said that they are monitoring whether the number of tourists coming to the Maldives is decreasing. “As we monitor in this way, we are not aware of any major impact or mass reduction in tourists coming to the Maldives, or any calls to take action against the Maldives or not to come to the Maldives. Nothing has been registered in any way,” said Minister Thoriq.
The minister said that they are monitoring this very closely. He also said that they are informing diplomatic missions in the Maldives and abroad about why this measure was taken. From the moment the President ratified this bill, some of the world’s most famous major newspapers have published news about the Maldives banning Israeli passports. This government continues to work extensively in various international forums for the rights of the brotherly people of Palestine. The President has previously calle called for the establishment of an independent state in Palestine in accordance with the pre-1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, and for Palestine to be given full membership in the UN.
The attacks that terrorist Israel has been carrying out on Gaza are attacks that have been ongoing since October 7 of last year. In these attacks, Jewish aggressors have begun a genocide that has so far martyred thousands of Palestinians, and it still continues. So far, more than 51,000 people have been martyred in Gaza.
