The Egyptian crisis is having negative political and economic effects on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. After initially maintaining silence, Hamas last week moved to close the Gaza offices of Ma'an News Agency and Al Arabiya.

Hamas accused some Palestinian media outlets of behaving like some Egyptian media outlets and “fabricating” stories about Hamas’ relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its interference in Egyptian affairs, both politically and on the ground.

On the evening of Thursday [July 25] the police came to the headquarters of Al Arabiya and Ma'an news agencies in Gaza City, informed them of the attorney general’s order to close their offices, and ordered their workers to leave immediately. The directors of the two media offices told Al-Monitor that the police showed them the attorney general’s order, but refused to hand over copies

The government’s information office in Gaza explained the decision in an email that stated: “We have repeatedly warned the media offices that have been closed about the consequences of going too far in broadcasting and publishing false and fabricated news; in falsely portraying the Palestinian people and their resistance as interfering in other countries; and in disseminating hatred and incitement. [In] the past few weeks those media offices escalated this kind of behavior. We have taken all legal measures to stop this campaign, including the necessary legal action outlines in the Palestinian Press and Publications Law and the prosecution of these and other media outlets before the judiciary.”