After Bangladesh, Maldives Says No Entry to Israelis
-
Hashim Sheikh
- . April 16, 2025
- . Update: April 16, 2025 5:30 pm
The Maldives has banned Israeli passport holders from entering the country. This decision comes after strong criticism and voices from the public and lawmakers due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
This proposal was introduced by Mikail Ahmed Naseem, a member of the Maldivian Democratic Party, in May last year. After almost a year of review and discussions, the Maldives Parliament passed the bill on April 16, 2025.
This new law brings a big change in the Immigration Act of the nation. According to the law, anyone who is traveling on an Israeli passport will not be allowed to enter the Maldives. But is an Israeli citizen is having a second passport from another country they can still enter using that passport. The Parliament had earlier considered banning all Israeli citizens, even those with dual citizenship, but later changed the rule to make it easier to implement.
Maldives has urged the international community to help stop what it calls a “genocide” in Palestine. This new law shows strong support for Palestine from the Maldives.
Even though Israel was one of the first countries to recognize Maldives after it gained independence in 1965, the relationship between the two nations has not been strong. The Maldivian public has always opposed ties with Israel, and this decision reflects that.
This is not the first time Maldives has taken such a step. In 2014, the country banned Israeli citizens from getting visas after an earlier conflict in Gaza.
With this move, Maldives becomes the second Muslim-majority country after Bangladesh to ban Israeli passport holders recently.
