Four Palestinian students in Gaza whose Fulbright scholarships were revoked and then reinstated in the last week were permitted by Israel to travel to Jerusalem today for visa interviews at the U.S. Consulate there.

Three more Fulbright scholars in Gaza still await permission, and all seven will still need approval from Israel to leave for their studies abroad.

The journey to Jerusalem is necessary because the U.S. State Department suspended interviews in Gaza after a convoy carrying Fulbright officials was bombed by Palestinian extremists in October 2003, killing three Americans.

The Israeli military reversed an earlier ban on the students after the State Department, the Israel Supreme Court, and the Knesset Education Committee heaped criticism on a policy that is preventing hundreds of Palestinian students from leaving Gaza to take university places abroad.

Israeli officials have indicated that the restrictions will be eased, not just for the Fulbright scholars, but also for other Palestinian students.

“It would be a tragic misunderstanding of Secretary of State [Condoleezza] Rice’s comments regarding the importance of the right to access education if Israel were to let just a few Fulbright students out — but prevent hundreds of others in Gaza from reaching their universities abroad,” said Sari Bashi, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli human-rights group campaigning on behalf of Palestinian students. —Matthew Kalman