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Last update - 00:00 05/08/2008
U.S. revokes visas of 3 Palestinian Fulbright scholars
By The Associated Press
Tags: fulbright scholarship, U.S.

The United States has revoked the visas of three Palestinian
Fulbright scholars whose cases were taken up personally by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after Israel refused to let them leave Gaza for interviews, U.S. officials said Monday.

Visas for the three, along with a fourth Palestinian student from Gaza who had hoped to come to the U.S. under a different program, were approved after Rice intervened in June but were rescinded last week when new information about them was received, the officials said.
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"There were four Palestinians who were issued visas about whom we then received additional information," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.

"We decided that we needed to take a closer and harder look at them in light of the additional information we received," said Gallegos.

He also said the visas were canceled under a prudential revocation clause in immigration rules that allows them to be rescinded based on information gleaned about the holders after they were issued.

"It does not preclude the applicants from reapplying for visas in the future," he said.

Gallegos declined to comment on the nature of the new information about the four Palestinians, one of whom had actually arrived at Dulles International Airport outside Washington before he was told his visa had been revoked and was forced to return to Jordan.

But another official familiar with the situation said the information related to security issues that were behind the refusal by Israeli authorities to allow them to leave Gaza to be interviewed for visas at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem in May.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to privacy concerns about visa records.

The visa revocations were first reported by The New York Times.

Palestinian students cannot apply for U.S. visas in Gaza because Washington does not recognize the territory's Hamas government and has no diplomatic presence there. Israel bans all Gaza students from leaving for security reasons but has made exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Rice had been infuriated when State Department officials canceled the
Fulbright scholarships of seven Palestinian students whom Israel had refused to let leave Gaza for their visa interviews.

After she took their cases to senior Israeli officials, Israel allowed four of the seven to travel to Jerusalem for interviews in June. Although Israel opposed the move, U.S. diplomats then made a rare trip to the Gaza border in July to interview the remaining three.

One official said Rice, who had been outspoken about the negative signal the original cancellations sent to Palestinians and the broader Arab world, had ordered a top-to-bottom review of the entire Fulbright scholarship vetting process in the wake of the cancellations.

Related articles:
  • Israel eases exit restrictions for 4 of 7 Gaza Fulbright scholars
  • U.S. consulate working to get exit visas for Gaza students (2006)
  • Court slams gov't for preventing Gazan students from studying abroad
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      2.   pleasse johan 07:28  |  sa 05/08/08
      3.   well 08:26  |  rm 05/08/08
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      5.   No 2 08:40  |  Eugenio 05/08/08
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      15.   Sad days for the US Fulbright Program 16:02  |  Oliver 05/08/08
      16.   #10 bashar....there are many Pals who have 16:06  |  Lynn 05/08/08
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      26.   revoked US Visas 21:35  |  Anne Sch. 01/10/08
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