Under public pressure, Bangladesh restores passport clause barring travel to Israel
Hasina government removed wording in 2021, sparking nationwide backlash
Ben-Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s transitional government has reinstated a clause in passports effectively barring travel to Israel following large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations nationwide.
The Home Ministry issued an order on April 7 instructing the Department of Immigration and Passports to restore the clause, which makes Bangladesh’s passports read "THIS PASSPORT IS VALID FOR ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD EXCEPT ISRAEL," Deputy Secretary Nilima Afroz confirmed to Anadolu on Sunday.
Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, adviser for home affairs, signed the order, officially putting the decision into effect, Afroz said.
In 2021, the Sheikh Hasina government removed the phrase, citing alignment with international passport standards. The move was met with heavy public disapproval.
Hasina’s administration, ousted in August following mass protests, faced accusations of acquiring Israeli spyware to monitor opposition figures, despite Bangladesh not recognizing Israel.
Although officials insisted that travel to Israel remained banned, removal of the clause triggered criticism in the Muslim-majority country.
Calls to restore the clause intensified after the political shift last year and amid Israel’s intensified attacks on Gaza.
On Saturday, Dhaka witnessed what was described as the country’s largest pro-Palestinian rally, a march for Gaza drawing hundreds of thousands.
The rally’s declaration listed reinstating the “except Israel” clause as a primary demand.
The death toll of Gaza Palestinians killed by Israel since October 2023 is now at nearly 51,000, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday.
Israel resumed aerial attacks on Gaza on March 18 despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in January, killing 1,574 people in that renewed campaign.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its ongoing war in the enclave.
