PNC PG leader: We need word from Palestine when banning Israeli passports

Ibrahim Falah, the leader of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC)’s parliamentary group, suggested on Monday that the Parliament seek the opinion of Palestine and other Arab nations as it reviews a bill to submitted by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) seeking to change Maldives’ laws to ban entries on Israeli passports.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s cabinet made the decision to make legislative changes to ban Israeli passports on June 2. But the Parliament had already received a bill from the MDP, seeking a blanket ban on travelers with Israeli passports.

South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem’s bill, submitted on May 29, 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.

Following the cabinet’s decision, the PNC decided to accept the bill into the Parliament, and make the changes the government wants during the committee stage.

It was sent to the National Security Services Committee for review with a unanimous vote on 88 on June 10. But work on the bill would remain stalled for the next five months, before the committee finally began work on the bill on November 12.

During a committee meeting on Monday, Falah, the parliamentary representative for Inguraidhoo constituency, who had previously also voiced opposition to imposing a blanket ban, said that Israel has a lot of Muslim citizens.

He said that the bill must not be rushed “for political gain.”

“I believe we need to get a word from Palestine. They too have leaders,” he said.

“I believe that we must ask them the extent to which banning the entry of Israelis into the Maldives will benefit them and whether there is any relief or happiness they stand to gain from it. And we must also consult with relevant institutions in Arab countries and other large countries and seek their advice and opinion.”

Falah said the committee must conduct extensive discussions before making a decision.

Falah asked fellow committee member Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, a lawmaker from the MDP, for his opinion.

“This is not about MDP saying something. This is about the government coming out and announcing that they will ban Israel passports,” responded Ghafoor.

He said that the PNC administration should not make promises it cannot deliver.

During a meeting on November 12, the committee set a February 2025 deadline to complete the review of the bill, deciding that extensive consultations with various stakeholders are required before making a decision.

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 44,000 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.