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Israel travel ban taken out of Bangladesh passports

Israel travel ban taken out of Bangladesh passports
Bangladesh dropped the clause barring travel to Israel when it introduced its new e-passport in January.
2 min read
28 May, 2021
Dhaka did not declare the omission when it rolled out its new e-passport in January [ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images]

ÌýhasÌýomitted aÌýprovision barringÌýBangladeshi citizens from traveling toÌýÌýfrom its new e-passports, Al Jazeera has reported.

Dhaka had previouslyÌýissued containing the message, "This passport is valid for all the countries of the world except Israel."

In January this year, Bangladesh dropped this when it adoptedÌýthe e-passport, which canÌýbe electronically scanned.

Dhaka didÌýnot announceÌýthe omission. Public attention was drawn to it when an Israeli official commented on it online.

A senior figure in the Israeli foreign ministry's Asian and Pacific affairs, Gilad Cohen, shared an article about the news Twitter.

Deputy Director General Cohen said it wasÌý"[g]reat news" andÌý"Ìýa welcome step

"I call on the Bangladeshi government to move forward and establish diplomatic ties with #Israel," he tweeted

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But Bangladesh'sÌýMinister of Foreign Affairs, AK Abdul Momen rejected the idea that Bangladesh had changed its position on Israel.ÌýÌý

"No one from Bangladesh can visit Israel", he said in statement to he media, threating "legal action" againstÌýviolators.

He told journalists the update sought to "maintain international standard", without elaborating.

He argued that the "[p]assport is just an identity and it doesn’t reflect the foreign policy of a country."

"The foreign policy of Bangladesh remains the same as it was during [its first prime minister's] time."

He continued: "We don't recognise Israel".

Bangladeshi law has no provisionsÌýbanningÌývisits to the Jewish state, according to Al Jazeera.

UnnamedÌýimmigration officials have saidÌýthat Dhaka's citizens canÌýreach Israel via another nation, providing theyÌýacquire a visa.

Md Touhid Hossain, an ex-foreign minister for the People's Republic, Ìýhe felt there wouldn’t be "any trouble visiting" Israel for those with an e-passport and a visa.

News of the update to Bangladesh's passport comes despite the recentlyÌýIsraeli bombing campaign inÌýGaza, which killed over 250 people, including 66 children.

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