Hamas to Probe 'Unlawful Executions' in Gaza

Gaza's Hamas government on Sunday announced the creation of a committee to examine the "unlawful executions" of Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel during the recent conflict.

"The government has decided to set up a committee to study what happened with the unlawful executions which took place during the aggression," Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nounou told reporters in Gaza City.

He was referring to at least two incidents during Israel's bombardment of the territory in which seven people accused of "collaborating" with Israel were gunned down.

In both cases, the killings were claimed by the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

On November 16, a man was shot dead in Gaza City after allegedly "providing guidance and information on the locations of the resistance and their rocket launchers to the Israeli occupation," a source told Agence France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Four days later, gunmen executed six "collaborators" in Gaza City's Nasser neighborhood, witnesses told AFP.

A message pinned to their bodies said the men were executed by the Qassam Brigades because they had provided "information about the capabilities of the resistance and their factions" and handed Israel information "about the movement of the fighters."

Neither Hamas nor the Qassam Brigades commented on either of the incidents.

During the operation, the Hamas-run interior ministry said it had captured an unspecified number of "suspected collaborators" and said that others had turned themselves in to the authorities.

Under Palestinian law, collaboration with Israel, murder and drug trafficking are all punishable by death.

All execution orders must be approved by the Palestinian president before they can be carried out, but Hamas no longer recognizes the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas, whose four-year term ended in 2009.