Maldivian Authorities Announce Entry Ban For Israeli Citizens Amid Gaza Genocide

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu June 3 announced a ban on Israeli passport holders from entering the country.

While authorities have yet to provide details on when the new law will take effect, Muizzu has established a subcommittee to oversee the process.

The decision comes amid increasing pressure from opposition legislators to protest against the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Further restrictions, including reciprocal measures from Israeli authorities, may be imposed at short notice in the coming weeks.

In response, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked Israeli citizens presently in the Maldives, including those with dual citizenship, to consider leaving the country.

Moreover, President Mohamed Muizu will be appointing a special envoy to determine Palestinian needs and consequently establish a fundraiser to meet them. 

Last year, 11,000 Israelis traveled to the Maldives, making up 0.6% of the country’s tourists. 

The decision was first motioned in November 2023, when Maldives MP Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla submitted a proposal to amend the Immigration Act to ban those carrying Israeli passports from entering the country.

Nasheed Abdulla stated that the objective of the bill is to pressure and place sanctions on “Israel” via a travel ban, in light of the genocide being committed against the people of Gaza and Palestine.

Abdulla also added that the Maldives must follow through with the ban on Israeli arrivals as the nations of the Organization for Islamic Corporation (OIC), of which the Maldives is a member, have placed a travel ban as well for the same reason. 

Forms of solidarity with Palestine

Back in January 2022, Israeli diplomatic sources claimed that the Maldives were reestablishing ties to normalize diplomatic relations with “Israel”, which were severed in 1974. After the 2014 war on Gaza, the Maldives terminated all ties with the occupation and prohibited all Israeli imports.

Part of the boycott is not only product-linked. Ambassadors to “Israel” have also been recalled and expelled by multiple nations, like Turkey and Jordan. Saudi Arabia announced a halt in normalization talks, while Honduras, Colombia, and Chile withdrew their ambassadors as well.

Another form of protest, widely becoming more recognized as a form of resistance against “Israel’s” genocide in Gaza, is the boycott of Israeli products and brands supporting the Occupation – such as Starbucks and McDonald’s, among others.

Meanwhile, Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with “Israel” over the ongoing war crimes in Gaza.