The government may have removed the Israel bar from passports, but citizens will still face punishment if they travel to the Middle-Eastern country, AK Abdul Momen says.
And Bangladesh will not give recognition to the state of Israel until an independent state of Palestine is established, the foreign minister said on Wednesday amid an intense debate over the move to drop the words “except Israel” from a travel declaration on the passports.
“We don’t recognise Israel. So no one from Bangladesh can visit the state of Israel. You know if anyone goes there without government permission that person is liable to be prosecuted and it has happened before.”
“Our position is as it was before and we will hold it until we see a free, sovereign and independent state of Palestine,” he reiterated.
He was speaking at an event to hand aid to Palestine for the Palestinians who recently suffered due to the deadliest conflict in the region in years.
