Hamas Executes Three for Murder: Two Shot and One Hanged

Ignoring pleas and condemnations from international rights groups, the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning executed three men convicted of murder in separate cases. Two of the condemned were shot by a firing squad and the third was hanged. In addition to the international angst, the executions underscored the ongoing failure of the Palestinians to end the bifurcation that sees Hamas ruling Gaza while Fatah controls the West Bank through the Palestinian Authority. Specifically, the executions were carried out without the approval of the death sentences by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, as required by Palestinian law. But Hamas argues that since Abbas’s actual term of office has expired [he remains in office because the two factions are unable to agree upon elections] the PA government is illegitimate. Ahmed Brak, the Ramallah based attorney general, told the Reuters news agency that, “Carrying out the executions represents a flagrant violation of the Palestinian basic law,” and said those responsible had committed murder themselves.