JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Hamas government in Gaza announced that it will execute Palestinians found guilty of collaborating with Israel.
Despite protests in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the announcement was made Wednesday by the Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad, according to reports.
"The death penalty will be implemented for [Israeli] agents who have been sentenced to death, regardless of the position of rights groups that reject these kinds of sentences," Hammad said.
Hammad said the executions would occur "in the near future." It is unknown how many Gaza Palestinians have been sentenced to death for "collaboration with the enemy," according to reports. The sentences have been handed down in the last two months, according to the French news agency AFP.
Israeli security forces use Palestinians informants to assist in combating terrorist attacks.
