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Hamas executes 3 Palestinians convicted of murder

Xinhua, May 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

Authorities of the Islamic Hamas movement executed on Tuesday three Palestinians convicted of first-degree murder, according to a statement of the Hamas-run interior ministry.

The statement said that the executed men had admitted and were convicted of killing three Palestinian citizens, each case separated and not linked to the other.

"The three men were executed early on Tuesday morning by shooting and not by hanging," said the statement, adding that "it wasn't a public execution as it was published earlier."

The executions outraged the Palestinian Authority and the human rights groups in the coastal enclave, saying that Hamas should get consent of Palestinian President Mahmoud, and the executions were illegal.

Last week Hamas's inoperative Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) passed a bill to approve the law of death penalty in the Gaza Strip despite the Palestinian consensus government's opposition.

It is the first time that Hamas authorities execute people in Gaza Strip for murder since it took over the place in 2007. It had been executing Palestinians convicted of being collaborators with Israel.

Hamas attorney general Ismail Jabber announced last week that there are 13 murder cases that the court issued execution verdicts against and would be executed in public. Endit