Palestinian police forces were successful in preserving security and protecting Gaza's population

Executions in the Gaza Strip will continue as a means to deter criminals and foster efforts to maintain security and order, Gaza's Chief of Police Abu Ubayda Al-Jarrah said Wednesday.

Speaking to a local radio station, Al-Jarrah said the de facto government's police forces were successful in preserving security and protecting the Strip's population, living under Israel's crippling siege.

Also on the security and public safety agenda in Gaza, Al-Jarrah said, was a continued campaign by Gaza's traffic police against unlicensed motorcycles.

Police themselves will also be targeted for the security campaign, with the police chief emphasizing that minor transgressions on the part of police officers were immediately punished. The security services in Gaza have been called on to treat residents with respect, Al-Jarrah said, calling on residents in turn to help forces in their pursuit of criminals and fugitives.

The police chief's insistence on the continuation of executions in Gaza comes following calls from the international community that the measure be taken off the books, particularly in light of fact that the Palestinian President is by law supposed to approve the death penalty, a formality that was disregarded earlier in the month when three convicted murders were executed in mid-May, and others two charged with collaborating with Israel were executed weeks earlier, bringing the total number to five since Hamas began implementing the death penalty in April.

Since the first round of executions, security officials in Gaza said collaborators began turning themselves in to de facto security forces. De facto Minister of Interior Fathi Hammad said the government "will not hesitate" to implement the death penalty against collaborators.

However, Palestinian and international human rights groups have called on the Gaza government to bring an immediate halt to all executions, citing a breach of the Palestinian constitution which stipulates that President Mahmoud Abbas must authorize the sentence in each individual case.

On Tuesday, the Al-Asqa Brigades urged the Gaza government to stay the execution of one its leaders, warning of "serious" repercussions should the sentence be carried out.