Committee sets Feb 2025 deadline for Israel passport ban bill

The Parliament’s National Security Services (241) Committee on Tuesday set a February 2025 deadline to complete the review of a bill submitted by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to change Maldives’ laws to ban entries on Israeli passports

The bill, which sets down amendments to the Immigration Act, was sent to the Security Services Committee for review with a unanimous vote on 88 on June 10.

The committee convened for a meeting regarding the bill on Tuesday morning – five months after the bill remained parked at the committee.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan suggested that the committee complete the work by February next year. This was seconded by North Maafannu MP Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim, the leader of the Maldives National Party (MNP), which is aligned with the government.

During the committee meeting, government lawmakers labelled the bill as “politically-motivated.” They said that the potential economic implications from making such a decision deserves thorough examination.

The committee decided to extensive consultations with various stakeholders before making a decision.

The motion to set the February deadline passed with the unanimous vote of the committee members in attendance.

The bill in question was submitted to the Parliament on May 29 by South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, one of a dozen MDP lawmakers who hold seats in the 93-member Parliament.

Meekail had presented a resolution to the Parliament on Tuesday morning urging the expedition of the work on the bill. He had submitted the resolution on October 28, but the presentation of the resolution hadn’t been scheduled until now. He had also repeatedly submitted emergency motions in the months since he submitted the bill over the delay in the legislature. But the motions were dismissed by the Parliament, in which the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) holds a supermajority. Meekail also sent a letter to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla seeking an explanation on why the bill had remained stymied at the committee stage. But no explanation was provided.

Presenting his resolution on Tuesday, Meekail again asked for an explanation regarding why the committee failed to conduct any work on the bill. He asked to identify the challenges in expediting the work on the bill, and asked the government to press the Parliament to compete the work and pass the bill as soon as possible.

In his resolution, Meekail accused the Maldivian administration of failing to take any substantial measures in the one year since Israel launched its genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, beyond making statements condemning Tel Aviv.

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.

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 43,600 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.