Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday launched a rocket attack on the local American International School in protest against US President George W. Bush's visit to the Palestinian territories.Ma'an Arabic says:
No one was hurt in the pre-dawn attack, but eyewitnesses said large parts of the school were damaged by an RPG mortar, as well as other explosive devices.
This is the second time that the school has come under attack in the past few months. The previous attack occurred in April, when arsonists set fire to the school building in the northern Gaza Strip.
A group calling itself "Mujahideen Movement of Jerusalem" claimed responsibility for the bombing of the School, which expresses, according to a statement from the group, "The last symbols of the American administration and its allies in Gaza."The school website says:
The ">principal condemned the assault saying, "The school's staff and students are all Palestinians, and it is licensed by the Ministry of Education. Its mission is purely educational with nothing to do with politics."
He said that the same school had been targeted in the past and that an American visitor to the school had been kidnapped about a year ago.
The year 2004 witnessed the graduation of the first 5 students from the American International School in Gaza, the first batch of AISG graduates. Those students proceeded to fulfill their dreams in life, their dreams of a better tomorrow. Those are the first AISG graduates to go and study at American universities.Proving again how progressive thought and action in the territories are always going to be held hostage by the Islamists.
The AISG dream began several years back. In 1999, a group of visionary investors identified the gap and lack of know-how and the need for quality elementary, middle, and high school education in Palestine, particularly in Gaza.
The American International School in Gaza (AISG) was established with the guiding principles of academic excellence and outstanding behavior for national and international students. This will be delivered by caring and highly qualified personnel, utilizing the best educational practices in English and Arabic, which will enable graduates to become productive and responsible participants of society as the "leaders of tomorrow.
Situated 800 meters from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in the north of Gaza, our spacious and beautiful school is situated in an interesting mixture of a traditional Arabic village and the landscaped green of our modern campus. The present facility is built to accommodate 600 students in large classrooms, state-of-the art computer labs, media center with a library of 10,000 volumes, and fully-equipped science labs. Outdoor facilities for soccer, basketball, volleyball, and primary play areas contribute to the physical well being of our students.
Ironically, in some ways the entire Arab world has been shaped in no small part from the establishment of American schools and universities starting in the 19th century. Much of Arab nationalism has been attributed to the American Christian missionaries who started these schools and their offering an American-style curriculum and ideology.