JERUSALEM — The U.S. State Department has reinstated seven Fulbright grants offered to Palestinians in Gaza for advanced study in the United States, reversing a decision to withdraw the scholarships because of Israel’s ban on Palestinians’ leaving Gaza for study abroad.
After word of the grant withdrawals got out, senior American and Israeli officials expressed surprise and outrage, saying that training ambitious and talented young people under Fulbright grants was one of the ways to help blunt the appeal of radical forces in Palestinian society.
On Wednesday, the education committee of Israel’s parliament held a hearing on student movement out of Gaza, with many members saying they were horrified by the policy barring students from leaving.
