Leading Rafah family executes relative suspected of collaborating with Israel

A Palestinian family in the Gaza Strip said on Friday that it had executed one of its relatives who it said had collaborated with Israel.

In a statement, the Barhoum family in Rafah said it had “exacted revenge” against Ahmad Barhoum after a Palestinian armed faction told them that he had shared information with Israel.

The family said it had listened to the relative’s confessions and confirmed that he was “involved” in the deaths of three top Izzadin Kassam Brigades commanders during the 2014 Gaza war (Operation Protective Edge).

“In light of our religious and moral commitment, we exacted revenge against the collaborator Ahmad Said Barhoum after the resistance forces turned him over to us,” the statement said.

The Barhoums are one of Rafah’s largest families and are well known for their closeness to Palestinian armed groups at odds with Israel.

The Hamas branch in Rafah praised the Barhoum family “for what it did in terms of exacting revenge,” saying it “shows the firmness and depth of its belonging to the resistance project.”

Since 2007, Hamas has sentenced 109 people to death and executed at least 25 in Gaza. Palestinian and international human rights groups have repeatedly condemned such use of the death penalty and urged Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to abolish it.

Reuters contributed to this report.