Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdul Raheem Abdulla has rejected the emergency motion submitted by the main-opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) regarding the delay in banning Israeli passports.

A bill to amend the Immigration Act to ban entry with Israeli passports was submitted to the parliament on 30 May 2024.

The bill was submitted by the former ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s MP for South Galolhu constituency Meekail Naseem, in a bid to amend the Immigration Act, to ban the entry of tourists with Israeli passports into the Maldives.

An emergency motion calling to expedite the work on the bill was submitted by MDP’s MP for North Galolhu constituency Mohamed Ibrahim.

The emergency motion was submitted at a time when even the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) has called to speed up the work on the bill.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham had recently described the delay in the amendment to the Immigration Act to ban Israeli citizens from entering the Maldives as a parliamentary issue.

Speaker Abdul Raheem stressed that the emergency motion was not accepted because it did not meet the required conditions for an emergency motion.

However, he did not specify which conditions were not met.

The government announced its decision to amend the law to change the arrangement allowing Israelis to enter the Maldives on 2 June 2024.

After that, the bill to ban Israeli passports was accepted by the People’s Majlis and sent to the 241 Committee on June 10.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing genocide against innocent Palestinian citizens by Israel, thousands are being martyred every day, with over 44,000 people killed so far. Many of the victims are children and women.