The Parliament on Wednesday rejected a bill submitted by a lawmaker from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), asking the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration to push the Parliament to expedite work on a bill to change Maldives’ laws to ban entries on Israeli passports.
The bill, which sets down amendments to the Immigration Act, was submitted to the Parliament by South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, a lawmaker from the MDP, on May 29. It was sent to the National Security Services (241) Committee for review with a unanimous vote on 88 on June 10. But work on the bill had remained stalled in the five months since.
On Wednesday morning, fellow MDP lawmaker North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) presented a resolution, calling on the PNC administration to push for the bill to be expedited.
However, the resolution was rejected with a majority vote of 63-15, with one abstaining.
The debate on the resolution showcased a shift in PNC’s attitude towards the bill. Several lawmakers, including deputy leaders of the PNC’s parliamentary group, said that a blanket ban would impact tourism. They said it requires extensive consultation with stakeholders.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s cabinet made the decision to make legislative changes to ban Israeli passports on June 2.
At the time, the Parliament had already received a bill from Meekail, seeking a blanket ban on travelers with Israeli passports.
Following the cabinet’s decision, the main ruling PNC decided to accept the bill into the Parliament, and make the changes the government wants during the committee stage.
Meekail’s bill is designed to add a clause to Article 8 of Immigration Act, which lists individuals who are barred from entering the Maldives.
It seeks to bar the entry of all Israeli passport holders, including those who have dual citizenship.
However, Attorney General Usham said that a blanket ban on all Israeli citizens could create certain “complications.” He said that his office would submit amendments to the bill.
Meekail's bill was sent to the Security Services Committee for review with a unanimous vote on 88 on June 10. But it remained stymied for the next five months, before the committee finally convened for a meeting regarding the bill on November 12. During this meeting, the committee set a February 2025 deadline to complete the review of the bill, deciding that extensive consultations with various stakeholders are required before making a decision.
Mounting outrage over the atrocities in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories have sparked protests in the streets of the capital, Male’ City, with Maldivians demanding that the government ban Israeli citizens from entering the country.
Israel’s current war on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, has killed more than 43,900 Palestinians, many of them women and children. It has also reduced much of the Palestinian territory to rubble, displaced the vast majority of residents, and resulted in widespread malnutrition. The war has now expanded to neighboring Lebanon.