Bangladesh has reinstated the phrase “except Israel” on its passports, once again barring its citizens from travelling to the Jewish state, local media reported on Sunday.
The phrase “valid for all countries except Israel” had been a long-standing feature of Bangladeshi passports until it was removed during the later years of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. Though the removal in 2021 drew attention, the government at the time maintained that its position on Israel remained unchanged.
Israel remains a highly sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which does not recognize the country and continues to express strong support for Palestinian statehood.
Nilima Afroze, a deputy secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, confirmed the decision to restore the travel restriction. She told the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) that authorities had “issued a directive last week” to reintroduce the inscription.
“The director general of the department of immigration and passport was asked to take necessary measures to implement this change,” Afroze was quoted as saying by The Daily Star on Sunday.
The move coincides with a renewed wave of pro-Palestinian sentiment in Bangladesh. On Saturday, approximately 100,000 people gathered in Dhaka to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The ongoing war in Gaza erupted following a Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. After a brief ceasefire collapsed last month, Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,574 Palestinians have been killed since, bringing the total death toll in the territory to 50,944.
