pakistan 
In a weird turn of events, Bangladesh seems to have taken some calls on Israel and its diplomatic approaches. It was revealed that a statement written on Bangladeshi passports ‘valid for all countries except Israel’ will no longer be written on the offical document.
The confirmation came on Sunday with the Bangladeshi officials making things certain themselves. Other countries such as Pakistan also have similar restrictions for Israel given the controversies surrounding it being a country or a region. This practice is mostly common is Islamic majority countries and it was surprising to find Bangladesh dropping the ‘except Israel’ text from the new electronic passports.
Since the time when East Pakistan was transformed into Bangladesh in 1971, the country’s leadership has been favouring the Palestinian territry and not Israel siting its oppression on the Palestinian people. Even during the recent clashes between the Israeli forces and Hamas, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foriegn Minister AK Abdul Moment have continued to show support for Palestines.
Read Also | NCOC allows loosening of some restrictions
The recent clashes were reportedly a result of the Israeli assaults on the worshipers at a flashpoint in Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramzan. It was followed by Israeli airstrike that had reportedly killed at least 248 Palestinians including 66 children and nearly 40 women.
But it was not a one sided attempt as Hamas holds equal responsibility for provoking anti-semetic views among people. Hamas leaders operate with extreme hatred towards Jews which has made it impossible for the two regions to discuss further on peace agreement.
However, it is still far from Bangladesh normalising its bond with Israel. Removing two words from its passport won’t necessarily mean that Dhaka is moving towards its diplomatic sphere for Israel. Imtiaz Ahmed, professor of international relations at Dhaka university said that the long standing moral position on Israel-Palestine will not be resolved just by removing two words.
“I hope that Bangladesh will never change this position,” said he hopes that Bangladesh never changes its position. “On the other hand, Bangladeshi authorities have been allowing the Palestinian Embassy in Dhaka for years,” he added.
