Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday in support of Hamas and Hezbollah groups in Gaza and Lebanon. Protesters chanted antisemitic slogans in Dhaka.
The protesters, estimated at some 100,000, gathered at the Suhrawardy Park in the Dhaka University. They carried hundreds of Hamas flags and chanted slogans such as “Free, Free Palestine.”
Many among them beat the images of U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing them of backing Israel. Symbolic coffins and effigies representing civilian casualties were carried during the rally.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Islamist groups and parties expressed their solidarity with the rally.
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people, maintains no diplomatic relations with Israel, and it officially supports an independent Palestine.
Bangladesh DGFI purchased spyware from the Israeli company
Companies founded by Israelis and based in Cyprus, Singapore and elsewhere have been selling surveillance tech to Dhaka, circumventing Defense Ministry regulation of such exports.
Spyware developed by several firms linked to Israel or led by Israelis has been sold to the government of Bangladesh, according to a joint investigation between the Haaretz daily and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
Israel and Bangladesh do not have any diplomatic relations, and the South Asian country has a markedly poor human rights record.
According to the Haaretz report, several Israeli cyber tech firms based in other countries or appear to operate shell companies in different countries have sold the Bangladeshi government equipment to monitor citizens’ communications and activities.
Sanctioned Bangladesh entity
On December 10, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Bangladesh’s elite paramilitary force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), as well as seven of its current and former officers due to serious human rights violations. This has created a stir in Bangladesh. The list of individuals includes current and former RAB chiefs Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and Benazir Ahmed, respectively, as well as four former Additional Director Generals of Operations: Khan Mohammad Azad, Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, and Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan. Additionally, the State Department imposed sanctions on Benazir Ahmed and Lt. Col. Miftah Uddin Ahmed, a former commanding officer of RAB Unit 7.
On 20 May 2024, the United States Department of State imposed sanctions on Aziz and immediate family members for significant corruption in Bangladesh, barring them from entering the United States.
Trump administration can introduce stricter sanctions on Bangladesh if Bangladesh’s interim government tolerates the pro-Hamas rally in Dhaka.
Bangladesh should accept the Abraham Accord.
As part of the two agreements, the Emirates and Bahrain recognised Israel’s sovereignty, enabling the establishment of full diplomatic relations.
The treaty was signed on September 15, 2020. It recognizes each state’s sovereignty, obliges the two states to exchange ambassadors, and concludes bilateral agreements on several topics, including visa agreements. Upon ratification, it will enter into force.
On 19 November 2017, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Israel has had covert contacts with Saudi Arabia amid common concerns over Iran. This is a senior Israeli official’s first public admission of cooperation between the two countries.
In 2015, Israel and Saudi Arabia acknowledged that they had been holding secret meetings to discuss Iranian ambitions in the region. However, they conceded there remained differences over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
There were public meetings, too. In 2016, former Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Turki al-Faisal met and shook hands publicly with Israeli General Yaakov Amidror, a former senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Washington Institute, a pro-Israel think tank in Washington.
Later in 2016, a former Saudi General, Anwar Eshki, led by a team of businessmen and academics, held unprecedented talks with Israeli members of the Knesset. Eshki has since appeared on television, speaking in favour of a deal with Israel.
Bangladesh had removed the ‘except for Israel’ part from its passport. Social media flooded with reactions—mostly negative — to the idea that Bangladesh might make some sort of move to better ties with Israel.
Bangladesh has dropped the “except Israel” clause from its e-passports but says its nonrecognition of Israel as a state remains unchanged. Many are baffled over whether Bangladesh nationals can travel to Israel.
Bangladesh must normalise diplomatic relations with Israel for national security and economic prosperity.
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