By Xinhua
Gaza : Unidentified Palestinian militants once again stormed the American International School in northern Gaza Strip early Saturday, destroying some equipment and setting fire to school buses, the principal said.
The raid on the school, which is located in Beit Lahiya town, was the second in three days, said the school principal Rebhi Salem.
The gunmen “stormed the school at 2 a.m. and stayed there for more than two hours and destroyed the school’s properties, stole computers and some private belongings,” Salem said.
The attackers also set six school buses and a car ablaze before they left, he added.
On the eve of U.S. President George W. Bush’s visit to the Middle East, unknown assailants blew up several bombs at the school, causing damages but no casualty was reported.
The school is run by Palestinian staff since more than two years ago when militants kidnapped two international teachers who worked at the school.
Meanwhile, Ihab al-Ghussein, spokesman for Hamas’ interior ministry, condemned the attack and vowed to pursue the attackers.
“This is a dangerous criminal act regardless the justifications,” he told reporters in Gaza, adding that “this is not the way to express your opposition to Bush visit.”
Hamas, which took over of the Gaza Strip by force from its rival Fatah movement in June, promises that it will restore security and stability to the volatile coastal enclave.