The students have not yet boarded planes, but at least at this point there is a glimmer of hope that they will soon….
US says it erred in case of Gaza Strip students
Following New York Times article on plight of seven Palestinians awarded Fulbright fellowships but who could not leave Gaza, State Department says it was wrong not to have asked Israeli government for help
The United States said on Monday it had erred by not approaching the Israeli government earlier to help seven Palestinians from the Gaza Strip obtain Israeli exit visas to take up US Fulbright fellowships.
The State Department said it approached the Israeli government on Friday, after The New York Times published a story about their case, to assist the seven, who had been selected for the prestigious US government scholarship.
The US State Department last week told the seven their Fulbright grants had been withdrawn and it took steps to be able to direct the money to other Palestinians in the West Bank because of the trouble getting the exit visas from Gaza. After the newspaper story was published, William Burns, the third-ranking US diplomat, approached the Israeli government to seek its help in obtaining exit permits for the seven.
On Friday, the US government said it would find money for the seven to take up their fellowships and on Sunday Israel said it would try to assist them in getting exit permits.
The above was taken from THIS Reuters report….
The New York Times report mentioned above can be read HERE.
THIS report from the ElectronicIntifada is also worth reading.
Desertpeace 
BiblioHistoria said,
June 3, 2008 at 16:51
Israel must know that an eye for an eye is the rule in that country. So if Israel does deny these seven students because they might be going to terrorist training camps, then the world is allowed to call Israel names such you are racist, apartheid, and terrorist country.
Make no mistake – Israel is a terrorist nation just as the USA is also a terrorist nation,
Iran so far is NOT a terrorist nation. Under the terms of the international nuclear treaty Iran is ALLOWED to produce nuclear fuel for power stations.
source – WRH
Hale said,
June 4, 2008 at 00:22
Don`t you just love that international terrorism-I mean “american democracy”?
If it weren`t for america and israel the world would actually be a peaceful, stable, liveable place.
But those two international terrorists can`t have that!