The Hamas terrorist organization, which rules the Gaza Strip, announced on Thursday it had sentenced six Palestinian Arab "informants" to death for collaborating with Israel, AFP reported.
The Hamas military court said it had issued sentences "against a number of informants, including six death sentences, other sentences varying between life terms and temporary hard labor, and one acquittal."
The announcement comes nearly two weeks after a Hamas court sentenced two Palestinian Arab men from Khan Yunis and Rafah to death by hanging on charges of collaboration with Israel.
Hamas regularly claims to have captured “Israeli spies”, and many times it tries them and sentences them to death.
In October of 2018, the group claimed to have exposed and arrested a Palestinian Arab who had worked as an intelligence agent for Israel for 15 years.
In March of that year, the group claimed it had arrested a local man who had been working as a “spy” for Israel and who intended to convince Gazans not to take part in a violent protest march along the Gaza-Israel border.
In 2019, Hamas reportedly uncovered an Israeli espionage attempt against one of the organization's commanders.
In theory all execution orders in the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) territories must be approved by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in Ramallah and who imposed a moratorium on executions several years ago.
Hamas no longer recognizes Abbas’ legitimacy, and has in the past emphatically declared that the death penalty in Gaza can be carried out without his consent.
Hamas said on Thursday that collaborators who turn themselves in will face more lenient terms, and said that the "judgements issued have fulfilled all legal procedures."