U.S. lawmakers are crafting legislation aimed at stopping the Maldives from banning Israeli passport holders from entering the country,

The tiny, Muslim-majority archipelago and luxury tourist destination this week became the first country since the Oct. 7 attack to announce plans to institute such a passport ban in response to the war in Gaza.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) is developing legislation that would condition U.S. aid to the Maldives on allowing Israeli passport holders into the country, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.

Gottheimer, one of Israel's most steadfast defenders in Congress, is working with colleagues in both parties on the bill, which will be called the Protecting Allied Travel Here (PATH) Act, the source said.

"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.

"Not only is Israel one of our greatest democratic allies, but the Maldives' unprecedented travel ban is nothing but a blatant act of Jew hatred. They shouldn't get a cent of American dollars until they reverse course."

The U.S. sent roughly USD 36 million in financial assistance to the Maldives between 2019 and 2023, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.

The funds are to "strengthen democratic institutions, civil society, fiscal transparency, maritime security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement," per the State Department.