The People’s Majlis’ 241 Committee has passed a motion today to finalize the bill amending the Immigration Act to ban entry to the Maldives with Israeli passports by February 2025.
The bill to ban entry with Israeli passports was submitted by MDP member Mickail Ahmed Naseem, representing Galolhu South constituency. It was submitted on May 29 and forwarded to the National Security Services Committee (241 Committee) on June 10.
During today’s committee meeting, Thulhaadhoo constituency member Abdul Hannan Abubakuru stated that many institutions need to be consulted regarding this amendment. Considering the upcoming budget discussions and the parliament’s recess starting December 1, he proposed setting the deadline for finalizing this issue to the end of February 2025.
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Ahmed Nazim, emphasized that this is a sensitive issue that shouldn’t be decided by just a few members. He suggested consulting with various stakeholders, including political parties, NGOs, IGOs, and other relevant parties.
Nazim also stated, “I believe that Israel’s inhumane actions against Palestine are unacceptable. Especially the crimes Israel is committing are not something we accept. I strongly condemn these crimes on behalf of the party, myself, and my constituency, and call for an immediate halt to these atrocities.”
The committee unanimously passed the motion to set the deadline for the bill to the end of February.
The bill proposes to designate holders of Israeli passports, as well as Israeli citizens holding passports from other countries, as persons without permission to enter the Maldives. It states that this is a measure taken by the Maldives against Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians.
Although the 19th Parliament had passed a resolution to ban Israeli passports, no specific action has been taken so far, which is mentioned as one of the objectives of this bill.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s government has taken a strong stance in support of Palestine. In particular, President Dr. Muizzu has been advocating strongly in defense of Palestine.
