The Maldives has imposed a blanket ban on citizens from a major UK and US ally entering the country.
The Muslim-majority nation has barred Israelis from visiting to protest against ‘ongoing acts of genocide’ in Gaza and to show ‘solidarity’ with the Palestinian people.
President Mohamed Muizzu approved legislation that was passed by the country’s parliament on Tuesday.
A statement from his office said: ‘The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.’
‘The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause,’ the statement added.
It remains unclear whether the ban extends to dual nationals holding both Israeli and other passports.
Israel, which firmly rejects accusations of genocide, previously warned its citizens not to travel to the Maldives because of mounting anti-Israeli sentiment following the Oct 7 Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza.
Official data showed that only 59 Israeli tourists visited the luxury tourist archipelago in February, among 214,000 other foreign arrivals.
The Maldives has barred Israelis from entering the country to show ‘solidarity’ with Palestinian people and to protest against ‘ongoing acts of genocide’ in Gaza. The president of the Muslim-majority Indian Ocean nation approved legislation that was passed by the country’s parliament on Tuesday
The office of Mohamed Muizzu (pictured) said: ‘The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people’
Gaza’s health ministry said Sunday at least 1,574 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when a ceasefire collapsed
Israel, which strongly rejects accusations of genocide, previously warned its citizens not to travel to the Maldives because of growing anti-Israeli sentiment following the Oct 7 Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza (stock image of a beach in the Maldives)
However, nearly 11,000 Israelis visited the luxury tourist hotspot last year, accounting for a tiny 0.6 percent of the Maldives’ total tourist arrivals.
The ban will take immediate effect and apply to all of the country’s 1,192 coral islets.
The Maldives, whose population of 530,000 is more than 98 per cent Muslim, previously lifted a ban on Israeli tourists in the 1990s and tried to resume normal relations in 2010, though diplomatic efforts stalled in 2012.
Opposition parties and government allies in the Maldives have been pressuring Mr Muizzu to ban Israelis as a statement of opposition to the Gaza war.
Israelis have had to be cautious when travelling to foreign countries since the Oct 7 attacks, as some pro-Palestinian groups have tried to identify Israeli service personnel while they were abroad with the aim of having them arrested on war crimes charges.
Last year Israel warned citizens against visiting the Maldives, citing increased anti-Israel sentiment during the war with Hamas.
The warning came ‘due to the heightened anti-Israel atmosphere’, including public comments by officials.
At the time, the Maldives government announced a cabinet decision to change laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the country and establish a sub-committee to oversee the process.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday at least 1,574 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when a ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,944.
It comes as an Israeli air strike early Sunday heavily damaged one of the few functioning hospitals in the war-ravaged city, as the Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas ‘command and control centre’ operating from within the facility.
Since the outbreak of war, tens of thousands of Gazans have sought refuge in hospitals across the territory, many of which have suffered severe damage in ongoing hostilities.
The strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza – also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab Hospital – caused no casualties, but came a day after Israeli forces seized a key corridor in the territory and signalled plans to expand their campaign.
