NEW DELHI, April 14 (Bernama) -- Bangladesh has reintroduced the phrase "Except Israel" in its passports to bar travel to the Jewish state.
Bangladeshi passports used to have the text "This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel" but dropped the last two words, "except Israel," from new electronic passports in 2021.
However, Bangladesh continued to maintain the ban on travel to the Jewish state.
The Home Ministry has issued a directive asking the passport and immigration department to reinstate that clause, state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported on Sunday.
"We issued the letter (directive) on April 7," the ministry's security services division’s deputy secretary, Nilima Afroze, said.
Anger against Israel's 18-month-long genocidal war against the Palestinian people and its decades-long land occupation runs high among Bangladeshis.
Huge demonstrations were held in Bangladesh on Saturday demanding an end to Israel's daily massacres of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands carrying Palestinian flags gathered at the Suhrawardy Park in Dhaka and called for immediate world action to end the Zionist regime's aggression.
-- BERNAMA
