Minister for the Middle East, Rt. Hon. Tobias Ellwood MP, today condemned Hamas for carrying out executions on three Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating with Israel’.
The Middle East Minister said: “I strongly condemn the three death sentences carried out in Gaza on 6 April. This decision reflects a worrying trend of increasing use of the death penalty in Gaza”.
Mr Ellwood added: “It is the long-standing position of the UK to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. We have repeatedly called for the de facto authorities in Gaza to respect the Palestinian Authority’s moratorium on implementation of the death penalty”.
Hamas, the internationally recognised terror organisation that governs the Gaza Strip, hung the three men at dawn yesterday.
A military court in Gaza convicted the men of working with Israeli intelligence agents for many years, dating back to the late 1980s.
Hamas’s interior ministry said that the three men had “exhausted all their appeals”, suggesting that they were convicted years ago.
The hangings follow an assassination of senior Hamas commander Mazen Fuqaha at the end of last month, which Hamas has blamed on Israel.
After the assassination, roadblocks were set up and several people were arrested. Restrictions were imposed on the Erez border terminal, the sole passenger crossing with Israel. Men below the age of 45 are still barred from leaving Gaza, a measure that Hamas said is necessary to stop accomplices from fleeing.
