JERUSALEM – Officials in Gaza announced Sunday the execution of five Palestinians, two of them accused of spying for Israel.
First reported executions in Gaza in half a decade and comes amid anxiety within Hamas – the militant Islamist group that took control of Gaza in 2007 – about Israeli infiltration of its ranks.
Three of the five were killed by hanging and the other two by firing squad, Gaza Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said one of the alleged spies was arrested in 2009 after providing information to Israel since 2001, while the other was arrested in 2015 after providing intelligence to Israel. since 1991 about the location of the fighters, the rocket factory and the launch site. . The ministry did not provide evidence and an Israeli government spokesman, which usually does not respond to such claims, declined to comment.
The other three were charged with various crimes including murder, rape and robbery, the ministry statement said.
Hamas and other militants in Gaza do not recognize the existence of Israel and regularly fight Israel, firing missiles at Israeli territory and encouraging or organizing Palestinian attacks inside Israel itself. Israel regularly conducts air strikes on Gaza; Over the past 15 years, hundreds of fighters have been killed as well as more than a thousand children and women, according to records compiled by the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. Some of its attacks were based on intelligence provided by the Gazans themselves.
Israel blocks most Gazans from entering Israel, and rights groups say the few allowed access to Israel – often for low-wage labor or rare medical treatments – are often denied access to Israel. Israeli officials brushed aside immigration and forced information.
To deter potential collaborators, Hamas installed posters and banners at the main intersection between Gaza and Israel warning Palestinians against working with Israel.
Israel and Egypt increased restrictions on movement to and from Gaza in 2007, after Hamas captured the territory in a brief civil war between major Palestinian political factions. Most Gazans are unable to leave the territory for Israel, but the Israeli government allows thousands of workers to work in Israel, and in the past year that number has more than doubled, reaching a 15-year high. .
Hamas won Gaza and West Bank parliamentary elections in 2006, but has run an authoritarian government in the Gaza Strip since taking power a year later.
It regularly detains critics and restricts the media, while its organizations enforce more conservative social measures, restricting alcohol sales and banning women from traveling alone. without permission of male relatives. Foreign journalists are sometimes expelled or barred from participating in research on topics that Hamas considers sensitive.
Fighting broke out last month between Israel and other militants in Gaza, but Hamas is unusual stay out of the clash.
Israel has recently made minor adjustments to its blockade, easing some border restrictions on Gazan trade and increasing the number of Gazans allowed into Israel. Despite losing popularity in Gaza, which has an unemployment rate of more than 40%, Hamas is seen as the right man to push Israel to end those concessions.
Iyad Abuheweila Reporting contributions from Gaza.
