CONTROVERSIAL EXECUTIONS CARRIED OUT IN BESIEGED GAZA

In a deeply controversial and largely condemned move 3 people who had been sentenced to death for murders in the besieged Gaza Strip were executed on Tuesday without approval of the Minister of Justice or the permission of president Abbas, which both are needed to carry out capital punishment according to Palestinian law.

Arguing that Abbas presidency is invalid because of lack of elections in time, the legislative assembly in Gaza accepted the death penalties against international and domestic opposition. Fatah movement condemned the executions.

The executed are Muhammad Otham, Yousif Abu Shamla and Ahmad Sharab. Two were hanged for 'normal' murders, one was executed by a firing squad as a 'militant'.

The executions were carried out either in the police headquarters in Gaza City or in the Central Prison according to different sources, out of the eye of the public.

The Palestinian legal system is based on the British colonial law from 1920 to 1948, with Jordan's law from that point until 1967 recognized in East Jerusalem and West Bank, and Egypt's in the Gaza Strip, with modifications since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.

Hanan Ashrawi, member of Executive Committee of the PLO, has called for the abolition of the death penalty. According to her: “Capital punishment is a rejected practice, legally and on the humanitarian level... Executions also cause further internal divisions and increase tension.”

As Israel is planning to introduce death penalty solely to be used against Palestinians in its military courts in the occupied territories, use of death penalty in Gaza can be seen affecting negatively the fight against Israel's planned Jim Crow law.

Argument used in support of the executions, that "the enforcement of court verdicts is a legal duty to protect the social fabric" and that they were “meant to deter those who may think of committing such crimes” has been proven wrong everywhere around the globe.

(Photo shows prisoners in Gaza's Central Prison. They do not include the men executed on Tuesday.)

SOURCE:

3 Palestinians executed after Gaza court convicts them of murder
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=771691

Dr. Ashrawi: “Capital Punishment, Not A Deterrent, Must Be Abolished”
http://imemc.org/…/dr-ashrawi-capital-punishment-not-a-det…/

Gaza: Death sentences enforced against three convicts
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx…

Hamas Executes Three Convicted Palestinians In Gaza
http://imemc.org/…/hamas-executes-three-convicted-palestin…/

PLC: Enforcing death penalties in Gaza is legal
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx…

Shams Human Rights Center Denounces Execution Of Three Palestinians In Gaza
http://imemc.org/…/shams-human-rights-center-denounces-exe…/