Hamas executives have ordered the execution of five Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday over charges of murder and conducting espionage for Israel amid rising tensions.

The charges of espionage date back to 2015 and 2009, said the enclave's Hamas-run Interior Ministry. The executions, by hanging or firing squad, were conducted at dawn and were the first in the Palestinian territories since 2017. Past instances of executions being carried out in Gaza have drawn criticism from human rights groups.

Hamas Executions

In a statement, the ministry provided some details but did not reveal the full names of any of the condemned men. It added that three had been convicted of murder and two convicted spies, aged 44 and 54, had given Israel information that led to the killing of Palestinians.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which is responsible for overseeing the country's intelligence services, declined to comment on the incident. The statement said, "The execution was carried out after the conclusion of all legal procedures. The rulings had been final, with implementation mandatory, after all of the convicted were accorded full rights to defend themselves," as per Reuters.

Palestinian and international human rights groups have criticized the death penalty and have urged Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to officially end the use of capital punishment.

President Mahmoud Abbas, under Palestinian law, has the final word on whether executions can be carried out on suspects. Despite this authority, Abbas has no effective rule in Gaza. In a statement, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemned the executions by Hamas, calling them violations of Palestinian law.

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According to CBS News, while the Interior Ministry said that executions are meant to "achieve public deterrence and security," human rights groups have questioned fair-trial standards in the military and civilian courts of the Islamic militant group.

Rising Tensions

Hamas took control over Gaza in 2007 after fierce clashes with forces loyal to Palestinian President Abbas. The group has issued 180 death sentences and followed through on 33 of them "without the ratification of the Palestinian President in violation of Palestinian law," said the PCHR.

The Palestinian Authority signed international treaties banning capital punishments back in 2018. Hamas and Israel have fought four wars and numerous smaller engagements since 2007, the most recent of which was in May 2021. Israel, the United States, and the European Union all consider the group a terrorist organization for its attacks targeting Israeli civilians.

The other three men who were executed were given capital punishment for their involvement in assassinating a Hamas military leader. The suspects were publicly executed with hundreds of people being allowed to watch the sentences being carried out.

The men were arrested just weeks earlier for the killing of Mazen Faqha, who was allegedly shot dead on behalf of Israel. The West Bank is home to nearly three million Palestinians who live alongside 475,000 Israeli settlers. On the other hand, Hamas rules over 2.3 million Palestinians living under a crippling Israeli-led blockade for 15 years, Aljazeera reported.

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