GAZA, April 5, 2012 (WAFA) – A senior Hamas official said Thursday that capital punishment against people he described as traitors and criminals have brought security to the Gaza Strip.

Ihab Ghusain, spokesman for Hamas security forces, said in an interview published on Hamas website that “success of the Hamas interior ministry in bring security to the Gaza Strip was made possible through enforcing Palestinian law from executions to stopping at traffic light.”

He said enforcing capital punishment against murderers and spies for Israel had left an impact on security in the Gaza Strip.

Ghusain threatened that Hamas will continue to execute whoever is convicted of murder or of spying for Israel.

Several Palestinian and international human rights organizations have condemned enforcing capital punishment in the Palestinian Territory and called for discontinuing it.

Carrying out execution of convicts requires the approval of the president, but since Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip since 2007, does not recognize the authority of the president, it carries out execution without his approval.

M.S.