July 11, 2008	Friday	Rajab 7, 1429

GAZA, July 10: Three Palestinian students hoping to take up prestigious scholarships to study in the United States despite an Israeli travel ban met US consular officials on Thursday at the Israel-Gaza border for visa interviews.

“We are still afraid we may not be able to travel to the United States because Israel is not giving us permits,” said Fida Abed, one of the three Fulbright scholars.

“The American embassy officials said they were continuing to discuss that with Israeli authorities and they were also looking at alternative crossings, such as Rafah,” he said, referring to a passage between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Earlier this year, the US government was embarrassed when it became public it had withdrawn Fulbright fellowships for seven Gaza students because Israel had not granted them exit permits from the blockaded territory.

After media reports about the students’ case, the United States restored the fellowships and formally asked Israel to allow them to leave the Gaza Strip.

Israel subsequently let four of the seven students travel to the US consulate in Jerusalem for visa interviews, but citing security concerns, denied permits to the other three.—Reuters