The American Consulate of Jerusalem has postponed its scholarship program for students living in the Gaza Strip.
The program was launched two years ago by Hillary Clinton while she was visiting the Palestinian region. The scholarship was granted to 30 financially strained students with exceptional academic potential, according to the Calgary Herald.
The future of the scholarship is currently undecided.
“We chose this year, for the 2012 school year only, to grant scholarships to folks already in the West Bank,” U.S. Department of State spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a press conference.
Nuland went on to explain the hold this year on the scholarship is due to a permit-related case in the Israeli High Court and while the court case is ongoing, there will be no students from the Gaza Strip going to the West Bank universities on scholarship.
She did not confirm whether the scholarship will be re-established after the court case.
“It’s obviously our hope and aspiration to be able to continue the program for Gazan students,” Nuland said.
The General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) released a statement saying it is disappointed with the decision made by the U.S.
“This contributes to further hatred against Israel and the U.S., and [they] hope this isn’t done on purpose to justify applying more pressure and collective punishment on Palestinians,” a spokesperson said via email.
GUPS said there are limited opportunities in Gaza and that cancelling the scholarship decreases the chances of educated leaders coming back to Gaza.
“[The U.S] should have fought more for it,” said Carleton University Palestinian student Rahaf El-Rayees.
“If I was part of those students, I would feel really hurt and it’s not fair,” she said.
“For example, if I was at the top of my class and I couldn’t go anywhere and couldn’t do anything, everything I had done would be for nothing.”
