US lawmaker moves to pull aid to Maldives over Israel passport ban: Report
US lawmakers are planning legislation to punish the Maldives for moving to ban Israeli passport holders from visiting the idyllic Muslim-majority island nation.
The legislation is being led by pro-Israeli Democratic lawmaker Josh Gottheimer, according to Axios. It would condition US aid to the Maldives on allowing Israeli passport holders into the country.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu announced on Sunday that he would move to impose a ban on Israeli passports, without giving details of when the new law would take effect.
In response, Israel's foreign ministry recommended that its citizens not travel to the Maldives, including those with dual citizenship.
"For Israeli 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," it said.
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Israel and the Maldives have not had diplomatic ties since 1974, but Israelis have been permitted to visit the picturesque island nation since the early 1990s when it removed a previous ban on Israeli tourism.
According to the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, 528 Israelis visited the country in the first quarter of this year, down 89 percent from 4,644 in the first quarter of 2023.
The Indian Ocean nation has received $36m in bilateral foreign assistance from the US since 2018, according to the State Department.
“Taxpayer dollars shouldn't be sent to a foreign nation that has banned all Israeli citizens from traveling to their country," Gottheimer said in a statement to Axios.
The Maldives found itself at the centre of a spat focused on Israel in January this year after it lashed out at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promoting tourism on an Indian island chain; a move Maldivian officials saw as an attempt to pinch tourists away from them.
Senior officials from the country accused Modi of being a “puppet of Israel” as part of their criticism.
The island nation has a long history of supporting Palestine and opposing Israel. Pro-Israel groups say it has a 100 percent record of voting against Israel at the UN since 2015.
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