GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – A Gaza military court has convicted three men of collaborating with Israel, sentencing one to death and two more to prison terms, the Hamas interior ministry said on Monday.
"The military court handed down a death sentence against one collaborator with the occupation, and prison terms of seven years and three years for two other collaborators," the ministry said in a statement.
No additional details on the men were provided.
In April, Gaza's Hamas rulers executed two alleged "collaborators" in the first executions to be carried out since the Islamist movement seized power in June 2007.
It was also the first time executions had been carried out in the coastal enclave for five years.
Palestinian law says the president must approve all execution orders before they can be carried out, but Hamas no longer recognises the legitimacy of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose four-year term ended in 2009.
Human Rights Watch says Hamas killed at least 32 alleged informers and political opponents during and after the 2008-2009 Gaza war with Israel and maimed dozens of others.
In April, human rights groups said 14 people were known to have been sentenced to death by military courts in Gaza last year after being convicted on charges of "collaboration," treason and murder.
Israeli security forces and intelligence routinely use Palestinian informers in the occupied territories to thwart attacks and assist in the assassinations of top militants.
