- The Muslim-majority nation has banned all Israelis from entering the country.
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The Maldivian government will expel Israeli citizens from its nation, as public anger grows in the predominantly Muslim nation over the war in Gaza.
The president’s office said the Cabinet had decided to change laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the country and establish a subcommittee to oversee the process.
He said President Mohamed Muizu will appoint a special envoy to assess Palestinian needs and launch a fundraising campaign.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in response that the Foreign Ministry recommends Israelis avoid any travel to the Maldives, including those with foreign passports.
He also recommended those currently there consider leaving.
Nearly 11,000 Israelis visited the Maldives last year, 0.6% of total tourist arrivals.
The president’s office said the Cabinet had decided to change laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the country.
Large billboards began appearing on the white sand beaches of the South Asian nation.
Public anger in the predominantly Muslim nation has increased over the war in Gaza.
The government considered imposing a ban on Israelis as early as November 2023, local media reported.
Maldivian MP Mohamed Nasheed Abdullah, who first proposed the bill, said he introduced it in response to “indiscriminate Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.”
Protests formed across the island in the days and weeks following the October 7 attack, largely in response to Israel’s military campaign against the Gaza Strip.
Angry Maldivians were seen marching through the capital Male, just weeks after Israel began its retaliation campaign against the enclave following the brutal Hamas attack.
Large billboards began appearing on the white sand beaches of the South Asian nation.
One said: ‘Ban Israeli passports. Maldives will prosper without their blood money. Free Palestine.’
It also reportedly displayed a QR code linking to a site hosting photographs and videos of injured Palestinian children.
The war in the Middle East has raged for almost eight months and both sides have shown few signs of wanting to stop it.
Angry Maldivians were seen marching through the capital Male, just weeks after Israel began its retaliation campaign against the enclave following the brutal Hamas attack.
The government considered imposing a ban on Israelis as early as November 2023, local media reported.
The Israeli military said this morning that it had found the body of an Israeli paramedic who until now was believed to have been held hostage in Gaza but who died in the October 7 attack.
The body of Dolev Yehud, 35, was located at Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was attacked during the bloody assault on communities in southern Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.
“During the brutal terrorist attacks on October 7, Dolev left his home in an attempt to save lives,” the military said in a statement.
“Dolev was assassinated by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7 and his body was located in Kibbutz Nir Oz,” the military said, without specifying when exactly his remains were found.
Until now, Yehud was believed to be held hostage by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. His sister Arbel Yehud is captive.
The Hamas attack killed 1,190 people in Israel, mostly civilians.
The militants also kidnapped about 250 people, Israelis and foreigners, 120 of whom are still captive in Gaza, including 37 who the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory bombings and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip have killed 36,439 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled territory’s Health Ministry.