Bangladesh reintroduces 'except Israel' inscription on passports amid public anger over Gaza

Dhaka: Bangladesh has reintroduced "except Israel” inscription on passports debarring its citizens from travelling to the Jewish state as public anger mounted against Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, officials said on Sunday.

The home ministry issued a directive asking the passport and immigration department to reinstate the sentence “THIS PASSPORT IS VALID FOR ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD EXCEPT ISRAEL” in the official travel permits for citizens visiting abroad, the state-run BSS news agency reported.

The phrase "all countries except Israel" was dropped in 2021 during the Awami League government led by now-deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The authorities at that time said it was dropped from the passport to maintain international standards of the document.

“We issued the letter (directive) on April 7,” Nilima Afroze, Deputy Secretary of Home Ministry’s Security Services Division, told the news agency.

The disclosure, however, came a day after thousands of protesters rallied in the capital to condemn Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip, carrying hundreds of Palestinian flags and chanting slogans like “Free, Free Palestine.”  The main protest was held in central Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan near the premier Dhaka University and many among them beat the images of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of backing Israel.

 Former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and rightwing Islamic groups and parties expressed solidarity with the rally.