Facebook removes Hamas page

JERUSALEM, July 27 (UPI) -- The networking Web site Facebook removed a page dedicated to Hamas's Gaza leader Ismail Haniya, the London's al-Hayat newspaper reported.

The report, published Sunday, said the "Commander Haniyah" Web page had more than 10,000 friends when it was removed without explanation.

The Palestinian news agency Ma'an said one of the supervisors of Haniya's site said he feared similar action will be taken against the page devoted to Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, which has already attracted more than 17,000 friends. The agency said other pages affiliated with the Hamas movement remain online.

Al-Hayat alleged Facebook had come under pressure from Israeli and U.S. lobbyists demanding Palestinian resistance movements such as Hamas be removed. There was no response from the Facebook administrators to the report.