Photo credit: DW
The Maldives ratified a change this week to its immigration laws to prohibit travelers from entering the country with Israeli passports in response to Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
The Peninsula reports that according to a statement from the office of President Mohamed Muizzu, “The Government of Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its enduring commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights of the Palestinian people.”
The proposal was first raised in June and it prompted a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry to recommend that Israelis leave the Maldives and avoid traveling their in the future.
However, Israeli officials are yet to respond to the latest development.
The new move does not prevent Israeli citizens with a second passport from entering the country.
The Maldives is a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean. A popular tourist destination in Asia, the archipelago has seen over 700,000 tourists in 2025 so far. Nearly 11,000 Israelis visited the islands in 2024.
