The flag of Hamas. The terror group said it is planning to go ahead with the public executions of more than a dozen criminals. Photo: Wikipedia.

JNS.org – The Palestinian terror group Hamas says it is planning to go ahead with the public executions of more than a dozen criminals in the near future.

“Capital punishments will be implemented soon in Gaza,” Hamas attorney general Ismail Jaber said. “I ask that they take place before a large crowd.”

Hamas official Khalil al-Haya said that 13 men are currently awaiting public executions. The last time Hamas held public executions was during the 2014 summer war with Israel, where Hamas firing squads shot several people outside of Gaza’s main mosque for allegedly collaborating with the Jewish state. The bodies were then dragged through the streets.

According to Amnesty International, Hamas carried out at least 23 extrajudicial killings of Palestinians in Gaza in 2014. Palestinian law allows for executions of those convicted of collaborating in murder and drug trafficking. Since 1994, more than 170 Palestinians have been sentenced to death and about 30 have been executed, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.