PA security spokesman: Hamas in state of hysteria

Palestinian Authority security forces spokesman Adnan Dmeiri said Monday that the Hamas movement is in a state of "hysteria." "Hamas is still insisting on a level of craziness and hysteria. We believe that some Palestinians believe Hamas' lies and falsehoods," Dmeiri said. "Hamas leaders couldn't handle an article by Nasser Lahham which criticized Hamas and began accusing him and protesting against him," he added. The PA security spokesman said Hamas had created chaos in the Palestinian arena and had announced conspiracies that people are working against the Islamist movement. On Saturday, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa satellite channel on Saturday dedicated a one hour talk show to criticizing Ma'an News Agency and its senior employees. The Hamas affiliated channel also criticized Egyptian journalists Ashraf Abu al-Houl and Ashraf Sweilam, claiming they both work for Egyptian intelligence. Al-Houl is assistant editor-in-chief of al-Ahram newspaper and Sweilam is a Ma'an reporter based in El-Arish, Egypt. Hamas closed Ma'an's Gaza bureau on July 25, accusing the news agency of deliberately publishing "false news reports seeking to incite against Gaza." The attorney general in Gaza also ordered the closure of al-Arabiya's Gaza office, accusing both outlets of disseminating information "unprofessionally." Human Rights Watch has said that Hamas "should immediately revoke the summary closure of two media offices."