News Brief06:43 AM

(IsraelNN.com) The American State Department has refused visas to three of seven Gaza students who were given clearance by Israel after American pressure to give them a clearance to leave Gaza to study under a Fulbright scholarship in the United States. The American consulate in Jerusalem cited unspecified security concerns as reasons for denying visas to the three students.

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice originally insisted that Israel allow the students to leave Gaza, and four of them were granted visas by the U.S. The Americans balked at the Israeli warning that the other three were security risks and granted them visas, only to revoke them two days later following "more information" that was received. "We decided that we needed to take a closer and harder look at them in light of the additional information we received," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters.