Hamas to execute 2 Palestinians linked with Israel

The two Gazan men are to be hanged before the end of the month, or as early as next week, senior Hamas official confirms.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Hamas rally (photo credit: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini )
Hamas rally
(photo credit: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini )
Hamas intends to execute two Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who were recently convicted of “collaborating” with Israel.
A Hamas official said that the two men, who were not identified, would be executed by hanging by the end of this month, probably next week.
The official said that the two men had been convicted by a Palestinian court of passing on to Israeli authorities information that led to the killing of Palestinians.
Salah Eddin Abu Sharkh, a senior official with the Hamas-run Gaza Interior Ministry, confirmed that his government planned to execute convicted “collaborators” in the near future.
Hamas authorities recently arrested several Palestinians on suspicion of aiding Israeli authorities, he said.
The arrests were carried out after a deadline offered by Hamas to suspected collaborators to hand themselves in expired, Abu Sharkh said.
The deadline, part of a campaign waged against collaborators, was offered by the Hamas government on March 12, and expired on May 12.
Those who handed themselves in were promised that their identities would not be disclosed. Collaborators who were not involved in killings were offered amnesty.