Six months later: What happened to the Maldives' call for a ban on Israeli passports?

In early June, the office of Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu announced his country would impose a ban on Israeli passport holders from entering the country.

Six months later, such a sweeping interdiction has not been implemented, with country officials suggesting Israeli officials be prohibited from entering the country instead.

“The Cabinet’s decision includes amending necessary laws to prevent entry into the Maldives with Israeli passports and establishing a Cabinet subcommittee to oversee these efforts,” Muizzu office’s June statement read.

However, later in June, the country’s Attorney-General Ahmed Usham noted that issuing such a complete prohibition on Israeli passports required further review.

“The biggest concern is that there are many Palestinians with Israeli passports, millions of them. What happens when we impose a blanket ban? These are matters that need careful consideration,” he said, according to local media.

Lawmaker Qasim Ibrahim reportedly criticized the bill at the time for singling out Jewish Israelis. “When we decide that a person with Israeli nationality can’t come to the Maldives, that means we’re talking about deciding that Jews can’t come,” he said.

“Therefore, as they are people who have believed in prophets of a religion revealed by Allah, we need to think very deeply about the chance of us doing such a thing from that perspective. We need to think about that very carefully,” Ibrahim further noted.

In October, Muizzu’s party, the People’s National Congress, which holds a parliamentary majority, issued a statement asking for the ban to be implemented.

Subsequently, in early November, the PNC stated the bill banning Israeli passports would pass as scheduled, according to the country’s local media outlets. On November 12, the Committee on National Security convened to discuss the bill.

According to local news outlets, parliamentary group leader PNC MP Ibrahim Falah told the committee that the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries should be consulted before the ban would be implemented.

The criticism of a blanket ban was reiterated by Deputy Speaker MP Ahmed Nazim, who was cited as saying to the committee, “There are Arabs and Muslims with Israeli passports.” He reportedly suggested instead that a ban could be imposed on holders of Israeli passports serving in Israel’s government or in the IDF.

In late November, Abdulla Ghiyas, president of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, recommended such a move. Local media cited him saying to the committee that the country’s financial ratings should be taken into account and, therefore, “a nuanced approach” should be adopted.

According to the country’s immigration statistics, some 149 tourists holding Israeli passports entered the country in October and November of this year.

'Avoid traveling to the Maldives'

Following the Maldives’ June announcement that it would prohibit holders of Israeli passports from entering the country, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement recommending Israelis avoid traveling to the country.

“This recommendation also applies to Israeli citizens holding a foreign passport in addition to their Israeli passport,” the statement read.

“For Israeli citizens currently in the country, it is advised to consider leaving, as in the event of any distress for any reason, providing assistance may prove difficult,” the ministry further noted.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.