Hamas Executes Five Palestinians in Gaza, Two for Collaboration With Israel

Gaza, MINA – The Hamas movement governing the Gaza Strip says it has executed five Palestinians, including two for “collaboration” with Israel.

The executions on Sunday were the first carried out in the coastal enclave for more than five years.

“On Sunday morning, the death sentence was carried out against two condemned for collaboration with the occupation [Israel] and three others in criminal cases,” Hamas said in a statement as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The statement went on to say the defendants had previously been given “their full rights to defend themselves”.

Hamas’ interior ministry provided the initials and years of birth of the five executed Palestinians, but did not give their full names.

“The two executed for collaboration with Israel were two men born in 1978 and 1968,” it said.

The older of the two was a resident of Khan Yunis in the south of the blockaded Gaza Strip. He was convicted of supplying Israel in 1991 with “information on men of the resistance, their residence … and the location of rocket launchpads”, Hamas said.

“The second was condemned for supplying Israel in 2001 with intelligence “that led to the targeting and martyrdom of citizens” by Israeli forces,” the statement added.

The three others executed had been convicted of murder, it said.

Hamas has sentenced numerous people to death in recent years for “collaboration” with Israel, but the executions on Sunday were the first carried out since May 2017. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)