A view of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Photo: ASaber91/Wikimedia.

i24 News – Bangladesh, the world’s third-most populous Muslim nation, announced Saturday that its new passports will no longer bear the words that the travel document is applicable for all countries “Except Israel.”

It holds out the prospect that traveling from the South Asian country to the world’s only Jewish state could shortly become a possibility.

Although Bangladeshi officials did confirm the removal of the “except Israel” clause, other senior politicians insisted that the new ruling had not marked a change in Dhaka’s Middle East policy. Bangladesh does not recognize Israel’s existence and Bangladeshis are currently prohibited from traveling there.

An unnamed spokesperson for the Home Ministry, asked about the possibility of Bangladeshis traveling to Israel, said: “If you want to go to another country, you need a visa,” reported the Times of Israel.

Gilad Cohen, deputy director-general for Asia and the Pacific at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, welcomed the development and called on the Bangladeshi government to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, which it presently does not have.

Great news! #Bangladesh has removed travel ban to Israel. This is a welcome step & I call on the Bangladeshi government to move forward and establish diplomatic ties with #Israel so both our peoples could benefit & prosper.@IsraelMFA #IsraelLooksEast https://t.co/LbOLbm9dfG

— Gilad Cohen ?? (@GiladCohen_) May 22, 2021

Despite a seeming thaw in relations on a governmental level, thousands of people recently attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Dhaka during the recent flare-up of violence between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Israel.