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| By: israelinsider staff |
| Published: April 22, 2007 |
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Heavy damage occurred to the American International School in Gaza, though no one was injured, when masked gunmen detonated a series of explosives Saturday morning.
After overpowering the many school guards, the gunmen stole furniture and equipment from the private school, and then set off the explosives.
Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, PA security forces believe the perpetrator could be the same al-Qaida-linked group that has been blowing up internet cafes and music stores in the Gaza strip.
Ribhi Salem, the school's director, condemned the attack.
"They want all the good people to leave the Gaza Strip," he said. "We urge the Palestinian Authority leadership to intervene to stop the this phenomenon."
"All those working in the school are Palestinians and the funding comes only from Palestinians," he pointed out. "The school has even been built on Palestinian land. We don't know why anyone would want to destroy such an important academic institution. What are they trying to achieve?"
According to PA Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti, "The explosion seems to be an attempt to undermine national unity and the Palestinian people."
"The continued encroachment on public and private property during this time of internal security chaos serves only the interests of the enemies of the Palestinian people. The government has a plan to solve the security problems and we will not allow such violations to occur. The relevant authorities will bring the perpetrators to justice."
Journalist Ashraf Ajrami wrote in the English language Palestinian Times on the infighting prevalent in the Gaza Strip.
"The fight that used to be directed against the occupation has instead turned into destructive infighting that ended the relative peace and quiet," he wrote. "Internal violence has increased, including killings, theft, attacks on property, terrorizing people for political and ideological reasons and violent confrontations between Hamas and Fatah. Today, Palestinian society is simply a mess and there is no law and order. This warns of a bigger and unavoidable catastrophe if the situation remains as it is."
Shortly after Saturday's attack on the school, Ajrami was injured in an armed clash between his family members and Hamas gunmen.
The American International School, established in 1995, was attacked previously in 2004 when Palestinian gunmen fired a rocket landing near the school playground, and again in 2006 when two school employees, one Dutch and one Australian, were kidnapped and later released unharmed.
After that incident, no foreign teachers have worked at the school. The number of Palestinians at the school has also dropped by 50 percent to only 300 students since the school's opening. |
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