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Maldives Postpones Israel Passport Ban, Cites Concerns Over Blanket Law Keeping Out Palestinians
Maldives Attorney General Ahmed Usham addresses reporters. Photo: Screenshot
The Maldives is reviewing its decision to ban Israeli citizens from entering the country due to concerns that the controversial proposal as currently written could keep out Palestinians, according to Ahmed Usham, the island nation’s attorney general.
“The biggest concern is that there are many Palestinians with Israeli passports, millions of them. What happens when we impose a blanket ban?” Usham told reporters at a press conference last week
According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), more than two million Arabs live in the Jewish state, comprising over 21 percent of the total population. According to recent polling, however, most Arab citizens of Israel do not identity as Palestinians.
Still, Usham emphasized that while the government’s position on barring Israelis remains unchanged, the prospect of a blanket ban also affecting those with Israeli passports who are Arab Muslim or Palestinian presents challenges warranting further review.
“These are matters that need careful consideration,” he told reporters.
Earlier this month, the office of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu announced that the archipelago nation in South Asia in the Indian Ocean would block all Israeli passport holders from entering the country. A week later, the Maldives parliament moved ahead with a bill to amend the immigration law to bar entry to both Israeli passport holders and Israelis with dual citizenship — even if the latter enter the country using a different passport. It was accepted and sent to a committee for review.
However, the government has decided to amend the bill to address the concerns outlined by Usham.
Although Muizzu’s party holds a supermajority in the Maldives’ legislature, there was a minority of dissenting voices to the legislation, such as businessman and lawmaker Qasim Ibrahim, who accused the bill of singling out Jews.
“When we decide that a person with Israeli nationality can’t come to the Maldives, that means we’re talking about deciding that Jews can’t come,” Ibrahim reportedly told fellow members of parliament. “Therefore, as they are people who have believed in prophets of a religion revealed by Allah, we need to think very deeply about the chance of us doing such a thing, from that perspective. We need to think about that very carefully.”
The government’s apparent decision to create some sort of exception to the ban for Arab Israelis, who are largely Muslim, may lend credence to Ibrahim’s concerns. Jews comprise about 73 percent of Israel’s population.
In response to the Maldives’ planned passport ban, the US Congress is preparing to take action. US Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), a strong supporter of Israel, has proposed legislation that would sanction the Maldives and any other nation that sought to ban Jewish entry. The bill would condition American aid to the Maldives on allowing Israeli citizens to enter the country.
“Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be sent to a foreign nation that has barred all Israeli citizens from traveling to their country,” Gottheimer said in a statement earlier this month. “The Maldives’ unprecedented travel ban is nothing but a blatant act of Jew hatred.”
In addition to concerns over the bill’s allegedly antisemitic intent, many Maldivians fear the bill’s fallout for its tourism industry. According to the World Bank, tourism accounts for nearly one-third of the Maldives’ economy.
The Maldives, known for its pristine beaches, has attracted Israeli tourists, primarily surfers. In 2023, over 11,000 Israelis visited the country.
In light of the travel ban, Israel’s foreign ministry has recommended Israelis avoid the Maldives. “For citizens already in the country, it is recommended to consider leaving, because if they find themselves in distress for any reason, it will be difficult for us to assist,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israel has not had diplomatic relations with the Maldives — a chain of islands that require its citizens and politicians to strictly adhere to Sunni Islam — since 1974. In the early 1990s, Israel allowed tourists to visit the islands. Even as Israeli tourism boomed, however, the Maldives prohibited direct flights between Malé, its capital, and Tel Aviv. An article published in Israel Hayom in 2021 sparked a frenzy on social media after announcing a direct airlink between the two countries operated by the travel company Caminos. The Maldives Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation quickly refuted the claim.
The Maldives is not the only country to ban Israeli tourists. Israeli passport holders have also not been allowed to enter Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen.
In response to the Maldives’ ban, the Israeli Embassy in India encouraged Israeli tourists to instead visit Indian beaches, tweeting, “Since the Maldives is no longer accepting Israelis, here are some beautiful and amazing Indian beaches where Israeli tourists are warmly welcomed and treated with utmost hospitality.”
The post Maldives Postpones Israel Passport Ban, Cites Concerns Over Blanket Law Keeping Out Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel’s Supreme Court Orders Improved Food for Security Prisoners
Israel’s Supreme Court. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday instructed the Prison Service (Shabas) to guarantee adequate food supplies for security prisoners, ruling that current conditions fall short of minimum legal standards. The decision followed an appeal filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
In a 2–1 ruling, the court found that the food situation posed “a risk of non-compliance with legal standards.” Justice Dafna Barak-Erez stressed that the matter concerned “basic conditions necessary for survival, as required by law,” not comfort or privilege. Justice Ofer Grosskopf agreed, noting the state had not shown the policy was consistently applied to all inmates.
Justice David Mintz dissented, maintaining that the existing policy already met legal requirements.
The court underscored that Israel’s legal obligations remain binding, even in light of the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza and the fact that many of the prisoners include Hamas members involved in the October 7, 2023 attack.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the ruling, arguing that while hostages in Gaza lack protection, “terrorist murderers, kidnappers, and rapists in prison” benefit from the Court’s intervention. He added that prisoners would continue receiving only the minimum conditions required by law.
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Ukrainian Government Building Set Ablaze in Record Russian Airstrike
Illustrative. More damage caused by the Russian drone that hit the Perlina school in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 30, 2024. Photo: Jewish community JCC in Kyiv, Kyiv municipality, and Yan Dobronosov
i24 News – The Ukrainian government’s main building in Kyiv was hit overnight Saturday by Russian airstrikes for the first time since the war, igniting a fire in the building, authorities said. Firefighters are working to put out the flames.
“The government building was damaged by an enemy attack — the roof and upper floors,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said. The blaze is is burning in the area of the office of the prime minister.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched a total of 805 drones and 13 missiles overnight on Ukraine — a record number since the start of the war.
Also as a result of the strike, a baby and a young woman were killed after a nine-story residential building was hit in the Svyatoshynsky district, also in Kyiv. Rescuers are still looking for a third body, authorities said. A woman was also reported killed in the strike in Novopavlivka village.
“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but also with actions. We need to increase sanctions pressure – primarily against Russian oil and gas. We need new restrictions that will hit the Kremlin’s military machine. And most importantly, Ukraine needs weapons. Something that will stop the terror and prevent Russia from trying to kill Ukrainians every day,” wrote Sviridenko after the attack.
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‘Trump’s Legacy Crumbles’: Israelis Call on US President to End Gaza War
Israeli protestors take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, and the end of war in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, issuing direct appeals to US President Donald Trump to force an end to the Gaza war and secure the release of the hostages.
Protesters packed a public square outside the military headquarters, waving Israeli flags and holding placards with images of the hostages. Some carried signs, including one that read: ‘Trump’s legacy crumbles as the Gaza war persists.’
Another said: “PRESIDENT TRUMP, SAVE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
“We think that Trump is the only man in the world who has authority over Bibi, that can force Bibi to do this,” said Tel Aviv resident Boaz, 40, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
There is growing despair among many Israelis at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has ordered the military to capture a major urban center where hostages may be held.
Families of the hostages and their supporters fear the assault on Gaza City could endanger their loved ones, a concern the military leadership shares, according to Israeli officials.
Orna Neutra, the mother of an Israeli soldier who was killed on October 7, 2023 and whose body is being held in Gaza by militants, accused the government of abandoning its citizens.
“We truly hope that the United States will push both sides to finally reach a comprehensive deal that will bring them home,” she told the rally. Her son, Omer, is also American.
Tel Aviv has witnessed weekly demonstrations that have grown in size, with protesters demanding that the government secure a ceasefire with Hamas to obtain the release of hostages. Organizers said Saturday night’s rally was attended by tens of thousands. A large demonstration was also held in Jerusalem.
There are 48 hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials believe that around 20 are still alive. Palestinian terrorists abducted 251 people from Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led its attack. Most of the hostages who have been released were freed after indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
NO PURPOSE
Trump had pledged a swift end to the war in Gaza during his presidential campaign, but nearly eight months into his second term, a resolution has remained elusive. On Friday, he said that Washington was engaged in “very deep” negotiations with Hamas.
Israeli forces have carried out heavy strikes on the suburbs of Gaza City, where, according to a global hunger monitor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing famine. Israeli officials acknowledge that hunger exists in Gaza but deny that the territory is facing famine. On Saturday, the military warned civilians in Gaza City to leave and move to southern Gaza.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians sheltering in the city that was home to around a million before the war.
A video released by Hamas on Friday featured Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, saying that he was being held in Gaza City and feared being killed by the military’s assault on the city. Rights groups have condemned such videos of hostages as inhumane. Israel says that it is psychological warfare.
The war has become unpopular among some segments of Israeli society, and opinion polls show that most Israelis want Netanyahu’s right-wing government to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Hamas that secures the release of the hostages.
“The war has no purpose at all, except for violence and death,” said Boaz from Tel Aviv. Adam, 48, said it had become obvious that soldiers were being sent to war for “nothing.”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since it launched its retaliatory war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack on southern Israel.
The terrorist group, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but today controls only parts of the enclave, on Saturday once again said that it would release all hostages if Israel agreed to end the war and withdraw its forces from Gaza.
Netanyahu is pushing for an all-or-nothing deal that would see all of the hostages released at once and Hamas surrendering.
The prime minister has said Gaza City is a Hamas stronghold and capturing it is necessary to defeat the Palestinian militant group, whose October 2023 attack on Israel led to the war.
Hamas has acknowledged it would no longer govern Gaza once the war ends but has refused to discuss laying down its weapons.