GAZA, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Gaza’s ruling Hamas Islamists executed five Palestinians on Sunday, two of them on charges of spying for Israel dating back to 2009 and 2015, the Interior Ministry said.
The dawn executions, by hanging or firing squad, are the first to take place in the Palestinian territories since 2017. Past death sentences in Gaza have drawn protests from rights organizations of Man.
The ministry statement did not mention the full identities of the convicts. Three of them were charged with murder, while the two accused of spying, ages 44 and 54, provided Israel with information that led to the deaths of Palestinians, the authorities’ statement reads. .
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the information from the Interior Ministry.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, which oversees the country’s intelligence services, declined to comment.
According to Palestinian laws, President Mahmoud Abbas has the final say on executions, but has no effective power in Gaza.
Since the Islamists of Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, dozens of Palestinians have been sentenced to death and 27 executed, according to human rights organizations. (Nidal Almughrabi, Gilles Guillaume for the French version)