Three sentenced to death over killing of Hamas commander

A court in the Gaza Strip on Sunday sentenced three men to death over the assassination of a Hamas military commander that the Islamist movement accused Israel of masterminding.

After a trial that lasted four days, two of the accused were sentenced to be hanged and one to be shot, the military court announced.

The assassination of Mazen Faqha in the middle of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in March shocked the Islamist movement and raised the possibility of a new round of violence with Israel.

Hamas immediately blamed its arch-enemy, with which it has fought three wars since 2008, and implemented strict border restrictions on those seeking to leave the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has not confirmed or denied the accusations.

Israel's defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has claimed Faqha's death was the result of an internal power dispute in Hamas.

In Sunday's court ruling, the chief suspect, Ashraf Abu Leila, 38, was sentenced to hang after being convicted of murder.

The others were identified only as Hisham A, 44, who was also sentenced to hang, and Abdallah N, who was to face the firing squad. They were convicted of collaborating with Israel.

Faqha had been in charge of forming cells for Hamas's military wing in the occupied West Bank.

He had spent years in an Israeli jail before being released as part of a 2011 prisoner exchange deal.