UN alarmed by Hamas move to hold Gaza executions

The UN envoy for the Middle East expressed alarmed on Wednesday after Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip moved to hold public executions, urging them to change course.

Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council that public executions are prohibited under international human rights law and that any such killings in the Gaza Strip would be carried out without the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which is required under Palestinian law.

"I urge Hamas not to carry out these executions and call on President Abbas to establish a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty," Mladenov told the council by video-conference.

The death penalty can be applied only to the most serious crimes following a judicial process that upholds fair trial standards, the envoy said.

"I have serious doubts as to whether capital trials in Gaza meet these standards," he added.

Thirteen men, most convicted of murder connected to robberies, are currently awaiting execution, according to Hamas officials.

Premeditated murder and treason, as well as collaboration with the enemy – usually Israel – are punishable by death under Palestinian law, which also stipulates that capital punishment may only be carried out with the approval of the Palestinian president.

However, as Hamas does not recognise the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas since it broke from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the movement’s authorities in the Gaza Strip sidestep the president's consent on cases of capital punishment.

The authorities announced on Sunday that they are planning to carry out a series of public executions.

The last public executions in Gaza took place during the most recent war with Israel in 2014, when a firing squad from Hamas's armed wing killed six men.

I urge Hamas not to carry out these executions and call on President Abbas to establish a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty - Nickolay Mladenov

Nine death sentences were handed down in the Gaza Strip in 2015 and two in the occupied West Bank, run by the Palestinian Authority, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Around 10 more have been handed down in Gaza so far this year.

Mladenov also warned that a recent upsurge in violence between Israel and Hamas could lead to another war.

A ceasefire agreed in August 2014 "needs to be vigorously upheld by all sides if we are to avoid slipping into another devastating conflict," he said.

Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has also expressed concern about the possible imminent executions in Gaza, urging the authorities to “uphold their obligations to respect the rights to life and to a fair trial and not carry out death penalty”.

“We also urge the Palestinian president to establish a moratorium on executions in line with the strong international trend towards ending the use of the death penalty,” he said.

Media reports indicating that the sentences could be carried out in public also raise alarm, as this is a practice prohibited under international human rights law, the spokesperson said.

Agencies contributed to this report