Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip explained

Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip has been enforced by multiple governments, militaries, and irregular militias throughout the area's history. A large proportion of the killings have been associated with broader violent conflicts. Many of the executions could be defined as extrajudicial killings due to an incomplete or unrecorded court procedure.

History

The Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip

The State Security Court in Gaza (Arabic: محكمة أمن الدولة في غزة), which was formed in 1995, issued several death sentences against eight people, as follows: 3 in 1995, 3 in 1997, and 2 in 1999, all of which were in murder cases. Not all sentences were carried out.[1]

Courts in the Gaza Strip after 2007

From the Battle of Gaza (2007) until the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present), The Hamas movement had control of the interior of the Gaza Strip on the ground, but did not control the airspace, maritime borders, or land borders.[2] Two parallel Palestinian judicial systems carried out executions in the Gaza Strip, civil and military.[3] The judiciary of the Hamas-led civilian government and the military courts of the Ezzedeen al Qassam Brigades. The West Bank and Gaza Strip governments collaborate closely on issues such as health, but on other issues the Gaza Strip authorities act more autonomously. Palestinian law requires approval from the Palestinian National Authority president (currently Mahmoud Abbas) for the death penalty, but authorities in the Gaza Strip have disregarded this rule on multiple occasions.[4]

Executions by Gaza's government and military (2007-2024)

23 executed in 2014

During the 2014 Gaza War, Hamas executed 23 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.[5] According to an Amnesty International report, 23 Palestinians were executed by Al-Qassam in the course of the 2014 conflict, and 16 of them imprisoned from before the war began.[6] [7] Some were on trial for espionage, but those trials were suddenly cut short. From among the executed, 6 were killed by a firing squad outside a mosque in front of hundreds of spectators including children. Amnesty claimed that Hamas used the cover of the war, which had a very heavily death toll,[8] to carry out summary executions, to settle scores against opponents under the pretext they were collaborators with Israel.[9] [5] They were also accused of torture.[10]

Most of these executions of alleged collaborators occurred in response to the IDF assassinating Raed Attar and Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, and the spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Mohammed Deif, which instead killed his 27-year-old wife, Widad, and his 7-month-old son Ali Deif. The following day, 18 of the suspected collaborators were executed by firing squad.[11] [12] [13] [14] The day after that, the body of Deif's 3 year old daughter, Sarah, was recovered from the rubble of the same home.[15] [16] [17]

9 sentenced to death in 2015 and 4 in January 2016

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported in December 2015 that Hamas issued nine death sentences in 2015. Hamas had sentenced four Gazans to death during the first weeks of 2016, all on suspicion of spying.

Mahmoud Eshtewi - February 2016

In February 2016, Al Qassam claimed they had executed of Mahmoud Eshtewi (Arabic: محمود رشدي اشتيوي |Maħmoud Rushdi Eshtewi,[18] [19] sometimes spelled "Mahmoud Ishtiwi"),[20] one of the group's leading commanders, for very ambiguous reasons. Eshtewi was survived by his two widows and his three children. Most reliable sources at the time described the charges as unnamed or undefined.[21] [22] [18] The stated reason was “for behavioral and moral violations to which he confessed” (Arabic: تجاوزاته السلوكية والأخلاقية التي أقر بها)[18] [19] [23] Whatever it may refer to, the confession was probably obtained by torture.[23] Before his death, his family had been told that the death penalty charge - treason (giving information to Israel that causes the deaths of Palestinians) - had been dropped. There is some suspicion that Eshtewi died in custody and was shot after death, from reports of people who saw his body before burial and thought the bullet wounds looked suspicious. The New York Times and other media from the USA interpreted the vague charges as a reference to a "homosexual relationship".[24] [25]

3 convicts executed in May 2016

In May 2016, Hamas reportedly executed three men by firing squad and hanging.[26] The execution was performed in the al-Katiba prison. The executed men were convicted for murder. Reportedly, the execution defied protests from the United Nations and "will likely" deepen tensions with the Palestinian government in the West Bank.[26] Hamas defied an agreement with Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank, by carrying out the executions without the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas later announced that 13 additional prisoners are to be executed.[27]

3 alleged collaborators executed in April 2017

In April 2017, it was reported that three Palestinians were executed by Hamas in Gaza Strip over alleged collaboration with Israel.[28] Reportedly, the men were hanged at a Hamas police compound, as dozens of Hamas leaders and officials watched the killing.[29] [30]

13 sentenced between January and August 2022

According to B'Tselem, Hamas courts handed down 13 death sentences in January-August 2022, but had not carried out any since 2017.[31]

5 executed in September 2022

On 4 September 2022, Hamas announced they had executed five men, including two men condemned over collaboration with the occupation (Israel), and three others in criminal cases.[32] A resident of Khan Younis born 1968 was convicted of supplying Israel in 1991 with “information on men of the resistance, their residence… and the location of rocket launchpads”; a second man, born 1978, was for supplying Israel in 2001 with intelligence “that led to the targeting and martyrdom of citizens” by Israeli forces, according to Hamas.[4] The other three men had been convicted for murder.

Death sentences and executions in the Gaza Strip (2005-2024)

Name(s) Age SexCharge Date Method
Treason4 August 2014Shot
Atta Najjar[33] Treason22 August 2014Unknown
Mahmoud Eshtewi
(also spelled "Ishtiwi")
Arabic: محمود اشتيوي 		34MUndefinedFebruary 2016Firing squad (alleged by Al Qassam)[34]
Prior death in custody (alleged by others)
3 unnamed peopleMurder (3)September 2022Hanging
Khan Younis resident Treason
Unnamed 44 year old maleTreason

Misinformation about executions in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip

See also: Misinformation in the Israel–Hamas war. While it is true that Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades militant wing have been credibly accused of numerous war crimes including various extrajudicial executions, some commonly told stories about executions in the Gaza Strip have been over simplified, exaggerated, distorted, or completely fabricated.[35] For example, during the Israel–Hamas war, a video described as “Hamas executes people by throwing them off a roof of a building!” circulated on social media, but the video was from 2015 and not from the State of Palestine.[35] A July 2015 report from Al Arabiya, included identical images and states that they were originally shared by the so-called Islamic State, and showed the execution of four gay men in Fallujah, Iraq.[36]

Allegations of capital punishment for homosexuality

Despite widespread rumors, homosexual behaviour is not officially or typically a capital crime in the Gaza Strip. The laws against homosexual behavior in Palestine are a relic of the British and Ottoman rule in Palestine, they specify a sentences of a maximum of 10 or 14 years, years in prison, and there in no evidence that these British colonial era laws are actually enforced in Gaza.[37] Some interpretations of these laws say that it does not outlaw consensual gay sex between adults at all, though sex between consenting males remains criminalized. In 2018, Anis. F. Kassim (editor-in-chief of the Palestinian Yearbook of International Law) said that Palestinian law (even in Gaza) could be interpreted as allowing non-commercial sex between consenting adult men.[38] However, there remain no laws in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) that explicitly prohibit sex between consenting women.[39]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: عقوبة الإعدام في مناطق السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية بين التشريعات السارية والمعايير الدولية The death penalty in the areas of the Palestinian National Authority between applicable legislation and international standards . مركز المعلومات الوطني الفلسطيني Palestinian National Information Center . https://web.archive.org/web/20200328165040/http://info.wafa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id=3848 . 2020-03-28 . 2020-03-28 .
  2. News: What is Gaza Strip, the besieged Palestinian enclave under Israeli assault? . 21 May 2024 . Al Jazeera . en.
  3. Web site: Abusive System . Human Rights Watch . 3 October 2012 . Esveld . Bill Van .
  4. News: Hamas executes 5 Palestinians in Gaza, including 2 for 'collaborating' with Israel . 9 August 2024 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220904083625/https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-excuses-5-palestinians-in-gaza-including-2-for-collaboration-with-israel/ . 2022-09-04 . 4 September 2022 .
  5. Web site: Hamas executed 23 Palestinians under cover of Gaza conflict, says Amnesty. Peter. Beaumont. 27 May 2015. The Guardian. 2016-04-06.
  6. Web site: Hamas tortured and killed Palestinian 'collaborators' during Gaza conflict - new report . . 2016-04-06.
  7. News: 'Strangling Necks': Abduction, torture and summary killings of Palestinians by Hamas forces during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict . 2016-04-06 . Amnesty International . 5, 15, 19 .
  8. News: PHOTOS: The Gaza families obliterated in just 51 days . 9 June 2024 . +972 Magazine . 26 August 2015.
  9. News: 2015-05-27 . Gaza: Palestinians tortured, summarily killed by Hamas forces during 2014 conflict . 2024-05-29 . Amnesty International . en.
  10. News: Kershner . Isabel . Hamas accused of killing and torturing Palestinians . 9 June 2024 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 27 May 2015 . en.
  11. News: Gold . Shabtai . Hamas executes 18 'collaborators' in Gaza . 14 June 2024 . Haaretz . 22 August 2014 . en.
  12. Web site: Body of Deif's daughter, 3, pulled from Gaza rubble. The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon. 21 August 2014. 21 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821231613/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Aug-21/267987-body-of-deifs-daughter-3-pulled-from-gaza-rubble.ashx#axzz3B22Iezk2. dead.
  13. News: The body of the child Sarah Al-Deif was recovered from under the rubble . 29 June 2024 . palinfo.com . 21 August 2014 . ar.
  14. News: Gaza: Thousand mourn death of Hamas chief's wife, baby son . 14 May 2024 . Firstpost . 20 August 2014 . en-us.
  15. News: Gaza: Thousand mourn death of Hamas chief's wife, baby son . 14 May 2024 . Firstpost . 20 August 2014 . en-us.
  16. Web site: Body of Deif's daughter, 3, pulled from Gaza rubble. The Daily Star Newspaper – Lebanon. 21 August 2014. 21 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821231613/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Aug-21/267987-body-of-deifs-daughter-3-pulled-from-gaza-rubble.ashx#axzz3B22Iezk2. dead.
  17. News: The body of the child Sarah Al-Deif was recovered from under the rubble . 29 June 2024 . palinfo.com . 21 August 2014 . ar.
  18. News: تعذيب وموت محتجز لدى حماس في غزة . Human Rights Watch . 19 May 2024 . 16 February 2016 . ar . لتجاوزاته السلوكية والأخلاقية التي أقر بها - For his behavioral and moral transgressions that he acknowledged. .
  19. News: Implementation of the death sentence issued against Phalange member Mahmoud Eshtewi . 31 May 2024 . Military Information Department of EQB . 7 February 2016 .
  20. News: Pfeffer . Anshel . Hamas leader's torture tactics revealed in IDF tunnel raid . 13 May 2024 . . 13 May 2024 . en .
  21. News: Hamas kills a local commander for unnamed 'violations' . 5 April 2024 . . . 7 February 2016 . en .
  22. News: פלסטין: עציר עונה ומת בידי חמאס - Human Rights Watch . 15 April 2024 . 15 February 2016 . he .
  23. News: Palestine: Torture, Death of Hamas Detainee - Human Rights Watch . 19 May 2024 . Human Rights Watch . 15 February 2016 . en . His family said they discovered that Qassam operatives held him in secret locations until February 7, when the group’s Military Information Department issued a statement saying it had executed Eshtewi after sentencing him to death “for behavioral and moral violations to which he confessed”. .
  24. News: Hadid . Diaa . Waheidi . Majd Al . March 1, 2016 . Hamas Commander, Accused of Theft and Gay Sex, Is Killed by His Own . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101090819/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/world/middleeast/hamas-commander-mahmoud-ishtiwi-killed-palestine.html . November 1, 2023 . 1 November 2023 . . "Adding a layer of scandal to the story, he was accused of moral turpitude, by which Hamas meant homosexuality." … "Mr. Ishtiwi, who is survived by two wives and three children…" .
  25. Web site: Moore . Jack . 2 March 2016 . Hamas executed a prominent commander after accusations of gay sex . 2016-04-06 . . Hamas announced that the man in charge of a number of the group's tunnels used for smuggling and surprise attacks had been executed for moral turpitude, a Hamas term for homosexuality … a Hamas investigation alleged that Ishtiwi had hidden money designated for his unit's weapons, before an unnamed man claimed to have had sex with him, providing details about their meetings. The investigation concluded that the money Ishtiwi had stolen had been used to pay the man for sexual relations or to bribe him to keep Ishtiwi's secret. . Note: The phrase translated by this source as "moral turpitude" is translated in other sources as "moral transgressions" and can also be read as "ethics violations", and there is no evidence of it being used by Hamas in any other context to specifically refer to Men who have Sex with Men (MSM).
  26. Web site: Hamas begins executions in Gaza. The Daily Telegraph. Raf. Sanchez. 31 May 2016. 2016-04-06.
  27. Web site: Hamas resumes executions in Gaza. 2 June 2016 . . Lizzie . Dearden. 2016-04-06.
  28. Web site: Hamas executes 3 Palestinians over Israel ties. Associated Press via USA Today. April 6, 2017. 2016-04-06.
  29. Web site: 2017-04-06 . Palestine: Hamas executes three civilians tried in Gaza military courts . 2024-06-01 . . en.
  30. Web site: Jack Moore . 2017-04-06 . Hamas Hangs Three in Gaza For Israel 'Collaboration' . 2024-06-01 . . en.
  31. News: Hamas executes 5 Palestinians in Gaza, including 2 for 'collaborating' with Israel . 9 August 2024 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220904083625/https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-excuses-5-palestinians-in-gaza-including-2-for-collaboration-with-israel/ . 2022-09-04 . 4 September 2022 .
  32. Web site: 2022-09-05 . Execution of Gaza prisoners condemned by UN rights office UN News . 2024-06-01 . news.un.org . en.
  33. News: 'Strangling Necks': Abductions, torture and summary killings of Palestinians by Hamas forces during the 2014 Gaza/Israel conflict - occupied Palestinian territory . ReliefWeb . 25 May 2024 . 27 May 2015 . en.
  34. News: تعذيب وموت محتجز لدى حماس في غزة . Human Rights Watch . 19 May 2024 . 16 February 2016 . ar . لتجاوزاته السلوكية والأخلاقية التي أقر بها - For his behavioral and moral transgressions that he acknowledged. .
  35. News: Fact Check: Video of people thrown from roof shows punishment by IS, not Hamas . 3 June 2024 . . 15 December 2023.
  36. News: Fact Check: Video of people thrown from roof shows punishment by IS, not Hamas . 3 June 2024 . . 15 December 2023.
  37. News: Palestine . 26 June 2024 . Human Dignity Trust . 15 February 2019 . en.
  38. News: Abusalim . Dorgham . The Real Oppressors of Gaza's Gay Community: Hamas or Israel? . 26 June 2024 . 7 Mar 2018 .
  39. News: Only men are criminalised under this law. . Palestine . 28 June 2024 . Human Dignity Trust . 15 February 2019 . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.