The Islamist group Hamas stated on Sunday that it had murdered five Palestinians in Gaza, two of whom were accused of collaborating with Israel.
This was the first execution reported to have taken place in Gaza in more than five years.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the two were found guilty of communicating with “hostile foreign parties.” The hostile foreign party here is a reference to Israel.
In one case, the information allegedly led to the “targeting and martyrdom of citizens;” while another was accused of supplying information on “resistance men, their places of residence, many of their jobs, the locations of launching rockets and blacksmithing workshops.”
The other three people who were put to death had been found guilty of murder. Since taking control of the seaside enclave in 2007, Hamas has carried out 33 killings, including the recent five.
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The executions were carried out “after all degrees of litigation had been exhausted,” according to the Gaza Ministry of Interior; and the prisoners “were afforded their full right to defend themselves in accordance with the litigation procedures.”
What shape the trials took is unknown. April 2017 was the last time Hamas is known to have murdered anyone charged with working with Israel.
Following that execution, Amnesty International denounced their convictions as “unfair proceedings in military courts.”
