Bangladesh restores travel ban to Israel in passports
Bangladesh officially reinstated the controversial endorsement "Important in all countries but Israel" in its passports, which formally prohibits the citizens of this country from travelling to Israel. This decision, announced on 13 April 2025, is simply a direct consequence to mass social protests related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip and represents a crucial return in the country's passport policy.
The restoration of the exclusion clause for Israel came only 4 years after its removal. In May 2021, Bangladesh's then government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, decided to remove this endorsement from recently introduced e-passports, arguing this decision with the request to adapt papers to global standards and regulations of the global civilian Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Although the removal of the clause in 2021 did not mean a change in Bangladesh's policy towards Israel, the country inactive did not recognise the Israeli State and maintained a formal travel ban for its citizens, this decision caused controversy at the time. abroad Minister AK Abdul Momen then assured that the change was purely method and did not affect Bangladesh's position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This year's decision to reconstruct the endorsement was taken in a completely different political context. Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, resulting from massive student protests, the country's power was taken over by the interim government under the leadership of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. The fresh authorities issued a directive on the restoration of the clause on 7 April 2025, and officially announced it six days later.
The immediate reason for this decision was the increasing protests in Bangladesh about the situation in Gaza. Thousands of demonstrators went to the streets of Daki, the country's capital, gathering mainly in Suhrawardy Udyan close Daka University. The protesters raised slogans calling for “Free Palestine” and expressed their opposition to Israel's policy. Demonstrations were not always peaceful – according to media reports at least 72 people were arrested after escalation of force during these protests.
Bangladesh, as a country with an overwhelming Muslim majority, traditionally supports the Palestinian case and advocates the existence of an independent Palestinian state. The country has never established diplomatic relations with Israel, and annotation in passports has been 1 of the visible manifestations of this policy for decades.
Restoration of clause “Important in all countries but Israel” is seen in Bangladesh as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinians. For the Israeli authorities, this may be interpreted as a step backwards in the possible improvement of relations between countries, although given the tensions in the mediate East, it seemed improbable that specified relations would have been established before.
The decision of the Bangladesh Interim Government reflects a broader trend in which interior policy and social force can straight influence abroad policy decisions. Restoration of annotation can besides be interpreted as an effort to legitimise the fresh government by highlighting its commitment to matters of broad public support.
As of 14 April 2025, all recently issued Bangladesh passports re-enter annotation excluding Israel, which formally prohibits Bangladeshi citizens from travelling to that country. This decision is in line with Bangladesh's historical position and underlines the importance of the Palestinian issue in the country's abroad policy.
