Ruling People's National Congress (PNC) Parliamentary Group (PG) Leader Ibrahim Falah has described opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)'s bill to ban Israel passports as 'an important bill'.
Inguraidhoo MP Falah said that he had no inclination to make the issue political even if it was submitted by the opposition party, and that it aligned with what the people of the country wanted.
Falah strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Palestine, and asserted that the MDP proposed bill is very important.
"We cannot reach any results if we look at this bill through a political lens," he said.
He said that the reason why it is considered from a political angle is because the issue arose in October, at a time when the country had an MDP President.
The government has decided to amend the laws to ban entry for Israel passport holders. However, the government and PNC intend to bring further changes to the bill proposed by MDP MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem before passing it.
Falah said that if Meekail had so desired, he could have submitted the bill during the previous 19th Parliament as well, and had it passed through their majority.
Falah said that while the government is taking numerous steps in support of Palestine, if the intention is to sincerely carry the bill forward and expedite it, then it must be sent to the Parliament's 241 Committee (Committee on National Security Services).
A large number of government leaning MPs supported this proposal by Falah.
Meekail, too, said that this bill should not be used to score political points, but rather all parties should collaborate to bring about the best results in relation to this bill.