241 committee approves Israeli passport ban until Palestine genocide ends

The Security Services Committee (241 Committee) of Maldives' Parliament has approved an amendment to the Immigration Act to ban entry for Israeli passport holders until Israel ends its genocide in Palestine.

The amendment was proposed by south Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, who submitted the bill on May 29 last year. Since its acceptance to the parliament, it had been stuck at the committee stage until now.

After a long hiatus, the work on the bill restarted on Monday, which included many amendments brought to the original bill.

The biggest amendment to the bill was the removal of the provision that prohibits Israeli passport holders and dual-Israeli passport holders from entering Maldives

Instead, the ban only applies to those who apply to come to Maldives on Israeli passports. This revision was made upon the recommendation of Maldives Immigration, which informed the committee that it could not be implemented otherwise.

This means dual-Israeli passport holders would still be able to enter the country on their non-Israeli passport.

The bill was passed unanimously by the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) majority committee.

The bill was passed with major changes amid criticism from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the public over delays in passing the ban.