Palestine has requested the Bangladesh government to reverse the decision to redact 'all countries except Israel' from the Bangladeshi passport.
“Bangladesh is a sovereign country and it has the right to do whatever it wants regarding its passport, but we would like to request the Bangladesh government to reverse the decision,” Palestine Ambassador in Dhaka Yousef SY Ramadan told a briefing on Monday.
Personally, I feel that this move is not acceptable to the Palestine people, he said. The ambassador noted that the move has created confusion, and taking advantage of it Israeli foreign ministry welcomed this move.
If Bangladesh removes 'all countries except Israel' from its passport, many would feel that Bangladesh allows its citizens to visit Israel, but the Bangladesh foreign ministry in a statement made it clear that its stance on Israel has not changed, the envoy said.
He also said that the issue has surfaced at a time when Israel is committing brutal atrocities on the people of Palestine in Gaza.
Bangladesh on Sunday said that the ban on visiting Israel would exist and the prohibition related to Israel was redacted to standardise the e-passport booklet.
