RAMALLAH, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday condemned a Hamas court in Gaza Strip for sentencing six Palestinians to death for allegedly "collaborating" with Israel.
It was unclear when the court's verdict was made, but officials from the Hamas-run Interior Ministry and the Military Judiciary Corporation made the announcement at a news conference held in Gaza on Monday.
The heads of EU missions in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah said in a press statement that they strongly reject the death penalty, no matter what the circumstances are.
"The abolition of the death penalty contributes to the protection of human dignity and to the progress and development of human rights," said the statement, which denounced the death sentences as "cruel and inhumane."
The EU statement argued that "death penalty does not constitute a deterrent to criminal conduct and constitutes an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity."
The statement called on Hamas rulers in Gaza "to refrain from executing any death sentence against the prisoners."
On Monday, Hamas officials said its military court sentenced six Palestinians, including a woman, to death for being "collaborators" with Israel.
Nasser Suleiman, an official of the Hamas Military Judiciary Corporation, told reporters that seven other suspects were sentenced to 6-15 years of imprisonment and hard labor.
He warned that "collaboration with the Israeli occupation is dangerous and the punishment of collaboration is high."
