Israel-Maldives dispute: India's neighbouring island country Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, has banned the entry of Israeli passport holders a day earlier. This has angered Israel and it has advised its citizens to boycott Maldives and visit Indian islands like it in the Indian Ocean, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already visited. The Israeli Embassy in India has tweeted in Hindi and English and told people that there are many Indian beaches which are very beautiful and guests are treated with respect.
The embassy's Twitter handle tweeted, “Maldives has now banned Israelis, below are some beautiful and amazing Indian beaches where Israeli tourists are warmly welcomed and treated with great respect.” Along with this, pictures of four beautiful beaches of India have also been shared. The beach pictures shared include Lakshadweep, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kerala coast.
Maldives imposed ban
The Maldives government on Sunday decided to amend the law to ban the entry of Indian Israeli passport holders. The decision comes amid growing public anger in the Maldives over the Israeli army's attack on Gaza. The decision was announced by Interior Minister Ali Ihusan at an emergency press conference at the President's Office.
“The Cabinet today decided to make the necessary legislative amendments to ban entry into the Maldives on Israeli passports,” he said, adding that the Cabinet has formed a special group of ministers to expedite the process.
More than 1 million tourists visit every year
More than one million tourists visit Maldives every year. Which includes about 15,000 tourists from Israel. The cabinet also decided to appoint a special envoy to Palestine to identify areas where Maldives needs help. Let us tell you that earlier this year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lakshadweep, Maldives had strongly objected to it. Three deputy ministers of the Ministry of Youth Affairs of Maldives had made negative comments on PM Modi and called PM Modi's visit to Lakshadweep a threat to Maldives tourism. This attitude of Maldives has not only strained the relations between the two countries, but Indians have also started a campaign to boycott Maldives and tourists going there have canceled their trips. Due to which Maldives had to face a huge economic crisis. At that time, China had to be requested to send tourists to Maldives.