Islamic Judge of the Palestinian Authority reminded of an existing fatwa that bans Palestinians from selling property to Jews, which is considered high treason and punishable by death. Land sale to non-Palestinians The Negotiations Affairs Department of the State of Palestine (PLO-NAD) declared in 2008, that all transactions with Israelis and other foreigners transferring confiscated land in the Occupied Territories violate international law and are null and void. It stated that under the Hague Regulations an occupant may only administer public property as a usufructuary and does not gain sovereignty or title over any part of occupied territory. Israel thus has no right to sell Palestinian state land, nor does it have a right to lease state land for long periods or for the purpose of settlements. According to the PLO-NAD, the Palestinian government of the future Palestinian state will not be under any obligation to honour Israeli transactions in occupied Palestinian property that took place during Israel’s occupation. Property transactions under Palestinian law In a 2009 case, in which a Palestinian was convicted of selling land to foreigners, it appears that some additional laws were used to obtain the conviction. The Jerusalem Post states that the defendant was convicted under a law prohibiting sale of Palestinian land to "the enemy" (possibly a reference to the old Jordanian law), as well as a Palestinian "military law" which, according to the Jerusalem Post, "states that it is forbidden to sell land to Jews", and two earlier laws dating from the 1950s which forbade trade with the state of Israel. While Palestinian Authority courts can impose death sentences, they cannot be carried out without the approval of the PA President. The current President, Mahmoud Abbas, has consistently refused to approve executions. In September 2010, a Palestinian court reaffirmed that the sale of Palestinian land to Israelis is punishable by death. The Palestine General Prosecution said that the ruling represented "a consolidation of the previous legal principle," and that the "ruling aimed to protect the Palestinian national project to establish an independent Palestinian state." Effects Sources differ on the number of Palestinians officially executed for the offence, with the Jerusalem Post stating that none have been executed while a BBC report indicates that there have been two executions. However, a number of extrajudicial killings have also taken place since the death penalty was first announced. In May 1997 for example, three Palestinians convicted