The Maldives is moving to place a permanent ban on Israeli passport holders in law, according to a statement from President Mohamed Muizzu’s office dated 9 November. The president said the government’s draft Immigration Bill, now before the country’s parliament, “provides for an unconditional ban on entry for anyone holding an Israeli passport”.
Earlier proposals, the statement indicates, would have lifted the restriction if the conflict that followed the 7 October 2023 attacks came to an end. The president said the current version applies regardless of changing circumstances, and that Israeli passport holders will not be allowed in “under any circumstances”. He described Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people as genocide, a characterisation that Israel rejects.
The Times of Israel, relaying the presidential statement in its live blog on 11 November, noted that the wording appears to cover Israelis who travel on a second passport as well. It also recalled that an earlier Maldivian ban was tied to the duration of the Gaza war, and that Israel issued a travel warning for the Maldives in December 2023. The reports do not say when the bill might be voted on or take effect.
The island nation, a popular holiday destination, has been among the more outspoken governments on the Palestinian cause in international forums, according to the president’s office.
Reporting note: This account relies on the Maldivian presidency’s own statement and on a brief Times of Israel live-blog summary of it. The bill has not been passed, its final text may change, and we have not seen independent confirmation of how it would be enforced.
Photo: Shahee Ilyas / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
