Israel embassy asks citizens to avoid travelling Maldives

Israel has advised its citizens, including those holding an additional foreign passport, to avoid travelling to the Maldives and asked those staying there to leave the Indian Ocean archipelago, a day after the Maldivian government decided to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the country amidst the deadly war in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry made the recommendations on Sunday in view of the Maldivian government's decision to make the legal amendments necessary to ban entry into the Maldives on Israeli passports as soon as possible.

While the Maldivian cabinet decided to ban Israeli passports, the actual implementation of the decision will require legal reforms.

Maldives receives more than one million tourists each year. About 10,966 Israeli tourists visited the Maldives in 2023, while 15,748 Israelis travelled to the country in 2023.

Israel issued a travel warning in December urging its citizens against visiting the Maldives, citing increased anti-Israel sentiment during the war with Hamas.

 Israel does not have diplomatic ties with the Muslim-majority nation after they were suspended in 1974. 

The Maldivian cabinet on Sunday also decided to appoint a special presidential envoy to identify the areas in which Palestine requires support from the Maldives and organise fundraising events to assist Palestinians through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The Gaza conflict began on October 7 after Hamas initiated an attack on Israel, killing over 800 and capturing 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.