Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah Khaleel has said that Israeli passports can be banned after amending the Immigration Act. The Minister said this while responding to a written question by the Member for Galolhu North Constituency, Mohamed Ibrahim.
The Member had asked why the decision made on June 2, 2024, to ban entry to the Maldives with Israeli passports has not yet been implemented, despite the fact that according to the Maldives Foreign Services Act, it is the Minister’s responsibility to advise the President on establishing and severing political relations with foreign countries, as well as implementing the President’s decisions regarding the recognition and withdrawal of recognition of foreign states.
In response to this question, the Minister said that the President decided in the Cabinet meeting on June 2, 2024, to ban entry to the Maldives with Israeli passports, and noted that to implement this decision, the Immigration Act needs to be amended. The Minister said that the proposed amendment to the Act is currently with the Parliament’s Committee on National Security Services (241) and is in the stage of being reviewed with relevant parties being summoned.
Therefore, the Minister said that once this amendment becomes law, it will pave the way for implementing the ban on entering the Maldives with Israeli passports. The Minister further said that the government condemns the inhumane acts being carried out by Israel against Palestine and is working with Islamic countries in international forums to bring attention to the international arena to call for an end to such acts.
A resolution was also submitted to the Parliament last year to quickly pass the bill proposing amendments to the Immigration Act to immediately ban Israeli passports, as a necessary step to demonstrate clear opposition to the misery and calamity that Israel is inflicting on the entire Islamic Ummah. Ummah. However, that resolution was rejected.
