"Under Israeli pressure, U.S.
officials have quietly canceled a two-year-old scholarship program for students in the Gaza
Strip, undercutting one of the few American outreach programs to people in the
Hamas-ruled territory. The program now faces an uncertain future, just two years
after being launched with great fanfare by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton during a visit to the region. The program offers about 30
scholarships to promising but financially challenged Palestinian high school
seniors from Gaza and the West Bank to study in local Palestinian
universities.
In a statement, the American
consulate in Jerusalem said it decided not to grant the scholarships over the
summer after Israel said it would not permit the students to travel. "Because of
the timing and risk of losing funding, available scholarships were awarded to
other applicants," it said. "We hope to include Gazan students in future programs."" (thanks Basim)
