Parliament Committee on Security Services Committee (241 Committee) has revealed that they prefer banning the entry of Israeli government and military officials into the Maldives instead of banning entry of all Israeli citizens.
At a committee meeting held on Thursday morning, Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim proposed to find out how many people entered the Maldives on Israeli passports, the number of Israelis with dual passports and all other necessary statistics.
"Based on what has been said earlier on the floor and what some people have said in this committee, we cannot support imposing a blanket ban on Israeli passports. That is because there are Arabs and Muslims with Israeli passports. Also, we must note that even the UN impose sanctions on military entities and those involved in human rights violations," Nazim said.
Nazim said Israeli passport holders who belong to the country's government or military could be banned from entering the Maldives.
The committee decided to give one week to seek written responses from relevant agencies and then summon officials.
241 committee wishes to get responses from;
- Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)
- Adhaalath Party (AP)
- Jumhooree Party (JP)
- Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)
- Maldives Development Alliance (MDA)
- Maldives Thirdway Democrats (MTD)
- People’s National Congress (PNC)
- Maldives National Party (MNP)
- The Democrats
- People’s National Front (PNF)
- Attorney General's Office
- Economy Ministry
- Tourism Ministry
- Foreign Ministry
- Maldives Immigration
- Maldives Association for Tourism Industry (MATI)
- Civil society organizations
The committee approved sending letters to the agencies today seeking written replies.
The bill to ban entry into the Maldives with Israeli passports was introduced to the Parliament in June by MP Meekail Naseem.
