Ramallah - The Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday said the Palestinian Authority (PA) was maintaining a campaign to shut down charities and local aid organizations in West Bank.

The PA's "frantic campaign has targeted many charities and service organizations by storming, closing and confiscating the belongings of these organizations," Hamas said in a statement.

The statement said that the organizations are targeted "without any legal justification, just under the claim that they were close to Hamas. In many cases, the campaign targeted private businesses under a shameless accusation that the owners receive money from Hamas."

The PA forces last week shut down four charities and two printing houses in West Bank city of Hebron for sponsoring factional activities for Hamas.

The closure comes as Israel also launched a similar crackdown against Hamas institutions in West Bank, mainly in Nablus city, in an effort to end the Islamic movement's civil infrastructure.

But in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Hamas closed dozens of civil organizations it considered affiliated with Fatah after it accused President Mahmoud Abbas' party of being implicated in a beachside blast that killed a girl and five Hamas members.

The explosion took place last month and Hamas continued arresting Fatah supporters and closing their organization in the toughest crackdown against the movement in months.

Last year, Hamas took control of Gaza Strip after routing pro-Abbas forces and driving out Fatah leaders to West Bank. (dpa)