Hamas Executes Three Palestinians for Assassinating One of Its Commanders

The Hamas group announced on Thursday that it has executed three Palestinians for the murder of Mazen al-Fuqaha, a senior military commander of the group in Gaza. According to Reuters, the military prosecutor of Hamas stated that the three men confessed to killing the Hamas commander on the orders of the Israeli intelligence agency. The Hamas Ministry of Interior also reported that two of the accused were hanged, while the third was shot. Mazen al-Fuqaha, one of the commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, was assassinated on the evening of April 4 last year in front of his home in Gaza. After the assassination of this military commander, Hamas leaders stated, 'All evidence and the manner of operation in the assassination of Mazen al-Fuqaha indicate that this assassination could only have been the work of the Israeli Mossad.' Meanwhile, Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Defense Minister, accused the new Hamas leader in April of last year of having ordered the assassination of Mazen al-Fuqaha. According to Reuters, Mazen al-Fuqaha was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for attempting to attack Israel. However, he was released during a prisoner exchange of one thousand Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier in 2011. Israeli media report that after his release, Mazen al-Fuqaha returned to Gaza and played a significant role in planning attacks against Israeli targets. According to Reuters, since 2007, Hamas has sentenced 109 people to death, with at least 25 of these sentences carried out. The Hamas group took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 during bloody battles with the Palestinian Authority forces. The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has always emphasized that the approval of death sentences is solely within the authority of Mahmoud Abbas, the head of this authority. However, Hamas representatives in the Gaza parliament bypassed Mr. Abbas's authority with a resolution. Human Rights Watch has condemned the death sentences in Gaza as unjust, emphasizing the torture of the accused and calling on Hamas to refrain from carrying out death sentences.