Israel To Allow Palestinian Student To Enter To Study, Dow Jones Newswires 10-18-06

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JERUSALEM (AP)–A doctoral student of chemistry from the West Bank should be allowed to attend the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Israeli Supreme Court recommended Wednesday, after hearing an appeal against a blanket ban on the entry of Palestinian university students to Israel.

The court said it would rule in the case of Sawsan Salameh within a week if no solution was found.

Human rights campaigners hope the court will issue a sweeping ruling and overturn the ban, imposed by the Israeli military in the summer.

Israel’s universities Wednesday protested the blanket ban and demanded each student be judged on merit.

Salameh said she is hopeful she’ll now be able to attend Hebrew University, one of Israel’s most prestigious schools, just a 15-minute drive from her West Bank village of Anata. Earlier this year, Salahmeh was awarded a spot in the doctoral program in chemistry, with a full scholarship.

In the summer, Israel banned all Palestinians from attending university in Israel, citing security reasons. Previously, applications for entry permits to Israel were checked individually.

The Civil Administration, a branch of the military that issues permits to Palestinians, said the ban was necessary because Israel doesn’t have good intelligence on Palestinians in some areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Students are more of a security risk, because they regularly enter Israel for a period of years, said Shlomo Dror, a Civil Administration spokesman.

“Because of the situation now, if it’s not a question of life or death, the rule is not to allow them,” he said.

Officials didn’t have figures on how many Palestinian students applied for permits this year. Fourteen Palestinians who were already attending Israeli universities when the ban was imposed are able to finish their studies, they said.

Salameh’s requests for an entry permit were turned down six times in eight months, from the moment she was accepted at Hebrew University. After her last rejection, she turned to the Israeli human rights group Gisha, which filed the court appeal.

Gisha’s director, Sari Bashi, said three more Palestinian university students have approached her group for help.

The vast majority of Palestinians have been barred from entering Israel since the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. At present, around 20, 000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, of an adult population of about 1.7 million, have entry permits.

Israel To Allow Palestinian Student To Enter To Study, Dow Jones Newswires 10-18-06

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