Meekail: Amended bill allows Israeli leaders to enter Maldives; makes a mockery of plight of Palestinians

Meekail Ahmed Naseem, a parliamentarian from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who submitted legislative amendments last year seeking to ban Israelis from entering the Maldives has criticized the major overhaul of his bill, describing the amendment to allow Israelis with dual passports to enter the country as a move that makes a mockery of the plight of Palestinians.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s cabinet made the decision to make legislative changes to ban Israeli passports on June 2, 2024.

At the time, the Parliament had already received a bill from Meekail, seeking a blanket ban on travelers with Israeli passports.

The South Galolhu representative’s bill, submitted on May 29, 2024, was designed to add a clause to Article 8 of Immigration Act, which lists individuals who are barred from entering the Maldives.

It sought to bar the entry of all Israeli passport holders, including those with dual citizenship.

Following the cabinet’s decision, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), who hold a supermajority in the Parliament, decided to accept the bill, and make the changes the government wants during the committee stage.

But the bill, which was sent to the Security Services (241) Committee on June 10, had remained stymied.

On Monday, over 300 days after the Maldivian administration announced its decision to ban Israelis from entering the Maldives, the Security Services Committee passed the bill, but with major amendments.

The bill has been overhauled to stipulate a ban on entries on Israeli passports “until Israel stops the inhumane attacks it launched on Palestinian people on October 7, 2023.” Meanwhile, the clause which stipulates that the ban should also extend to Israelis who have dual citizenship has been removed.

During the debate on the committee’s report on Tuesday morning, Meekail alleged that the committee suddenly decided to “shake the dust off” the bill and rushed the passage of the bill due to mounting pressure.

He criticized the amendments, saying it is now the complete antithesis of his objective in submitting the bill.

“Today, what we are witnessing once again is the Parliament attempting to rush the passage of this bill, which is now the complete antithesis of my objective in submitting it and has been completely distorted, because the government is unable to take the pressure it is under,” he said.

Meekail also responded to criticism from PNC parliamentarians who have accused him of harboring “insincere intent” in his decision to submit the bill.

He asked why the bill no longer has the clause banning entry of Israelis with dual citizenship – a clause that he said is crucial for the legislature to have any substance.

Meekail said that the majority of Israelis, including government leaders and senior officials of the Israeli Defense Forces, have dual citizenship and can continue to enter the Maldives with their second passport, making the bill redundant.

He also criticized the vague phrasing the bill now has, asking who decides what “inhumane attacks” mean, or who decides when the inhumane attacks stop.

Meekail accused the government of bowing under “pressure from the west.”

“Honorable Speaker, the people need to know why the 241 Committee decided to have the bill gather dust for 308 days and then suddenly bring it here now,” he said.

Meekail said he finds the use of vague phrases that require further interpretation unacceptable.

He said that the amended bill makes “a mockery of the plight of Palestinians.”

The committee had decided to amend the bill after Maldives Immigration said they determine the citizenship of foreign individuals who seek entry to the Maldives based on the passport they show, and has no way to check if they have dual citizenship.

The agency opinioned that the propose bill therefore cannot be implemented.

MDP parliamentarians had repeatedly submitted emergency motions and resolutions urging the expedition of the bill. In response to mounting pressure not just from the MDP but also from the general public, the PNC said the work on the bill remained ongoing, and would be completed as soon as possible. 

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 61,000 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. A fragile ceasefire that took effect in January collapsed in March.