MOSCOW, August (RIA Novosti) - Hamas announced on Monday a series of new regulations for Gaza schools, forcing female pupils to wear Muslim dress, Israel's Haaretz daily reported.

According to the new rules, which will enter into force from the start of the coming school year, schoolgirls in the Gaza Strip will be required to wear headscarves and full-length robes while in class. Those who break the rules will be sent home, the paper said.

Hamas has also ruled that male teachers cannot teach in girls' schools, and that women may not teach at boys' schools.

In June 2007, after Hamas took over Gaza, senior officials from the Islamist group pledged not to use Sharia principles in state regulations, Haaretz said.