He said he had “serious doubt” as to whether capital trials in Gaza would meet global law standards for capital punishment, as well as concern over “disturbing media reports indicating that the sentences could be carried out in public”.
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Hamas held a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2007, but no elections have been held since the Gaza takeover, despite multiple attempts at reconciliation with Abbas and the Fatah faction that he leads.
Al-Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim was addressing a group of Palestinian National Security Forces at a ceremony on Sunday celebrating their silver medal victory in the global 8th Annual Warrior Competition which took place in Jordan earlier this month.
Those to be executed “murdered innocent civilians”, Jabber said, adding the punishment must be implemented “as soon as possible to achieve social justice”.
The decision was announced in a statement from parliament members in Gaza, but it was unclear how many lawmakers of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council were in attendance or how they claimed the authority to rule.
Robert Piper, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, confirmed that more than 90 trucks entered Gaza on Monday, calling it a “decent return” close to levels towards the beginning of the year.
All execution orders must in theory be approved by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas before they can be carried out, but Hamas no longer recognises his legitimacy.
Hamas executed dozens of men for collaborating with Israel during the 2014 war.
Hamas, the Islamist movement in de facto control of the Gaza Strip, says it plans to conduct a series of public executions in the Palestinian territory.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), nine death sentences were handed down in the Gaza Strip in 2015 and two in the West Bank, run by the Palestinian Authority.
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He also called on Hamas to ensure that cement that is being sent into the Strip to rebuild homes destroyed or damaged in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in 2014 not be diverted to military purposes such as building tunnels.
