The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday night condemned recent Hamas summary executions of Palestinians in Gaza as “heinous crimes” and urged a return of “legitimate” Palestinian leadership to stem the chaos roiling the Strip amid the ceasefire with Israel.

While the PA strongly denounced the executions, US President Donald Trump appeared to downplay the terror group’s crackdown, saying the killings “didn’t bother me much.”

Hamas on Monday night published a video showing its armed personnel publicly executing eight blindfolded, bound and kneeling men in the street, with the group saying that its forces were “carrying out the death sentence against a number of collaborators and outlaws in Gaza City.”

The stark images, showing the gunmen killing the men at close range in a busy street before a crowd of onlookers, quickly went viral on social media.

The office of the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the summary executions as “heinous crimes” that have no justification and reflect Hamas’s insistence on ruling through force and terror.

It also urged that these violations must be stopped immediately, and said “the restoration of law and the legitimate institutions of the Palestinian people in Gaza is the only way to end the state of chaos and rebuild national trust.”

The killings also triggered a rebuke from a Palestinian human rights group.

The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), a body established by the Palestinian Authority in 1993, issued a statement demanding an “end to extrajudicial and arbitrary executions in the Gaza Strip.”

“The wave of extrajudicial executions and shootings in the legs that occurred after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip cannot be justified under any circumstances,” the group said. “They constitute a legal and moral crime that requires immediate condemnation and accountability.”

In contrast to the widespread condemnation from Palestinian leadership, US President Trump said he was unbothered by the videos.

“They did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad… and they killed a number of gang members,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night.

“That didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you. That’s okay. It’s a couple of very bad gangs. It’s no different than other countries like Venezuela [that have] sent their gangs [into the US],” he added.

Earlier this week, Trump said that he was okay with Hamas reasserting its control over parts of Gaza, suggesting he had given the terror group a temporary green light to police the Strip before a postwar government is formed to replace it.

“They do want to stop the problems, and they’ve been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time,” he said Sunday responding to a journalist’s question about reports that Hamas was shooting rivals and instituting itself as a police force.

“You have close to 2 million people going back to buildings that have been demolished, and a lot of bad things can happen. So we want it to be, we want it to be safe. I think it’s going to be fine. Who knows for sure?” Trump said.

Ashraf al-Mansi, a Gaza resident who has led a militia in northern Gaza against Hamas in recent weeks, on Tuesday denied that Hamas had harmed his group.

In a video posted on his personal Facebook page, he said rumors that Hamas recently killed or arrested members of his militia were false.

Al-Mansi also claimed that his militia has managed to take control of several areas in northern Gaza and is working to expand its presence in order to allow residents to safely return to their homes.

He also addressed Hamas directly, warning that if its members approach areas under militia control, they will be treated the same way Hamas treats militia members.

As the ceasefire appeared to hold six days after it went into effect, Hamas tightened its grip on Gaza’s ruins, launching a crackdown and killing dozens of Palestinians accused of colluding with Israel.

In the north of the territory, as Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza City, the Hamas government’s black-masked armed police resumed street patrols.

When busloads of prisoners freed from Israeli jails arrived in Gaza on Monday, fighters from Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades provided crowd control.

Meanwhile, a newly formed Hamas security unit began conducting operations against armed clans and gangs, some alleged to have Israeli backing.

A Palestinian security source in Gaza told AFP that Hamas’s security body recently established a unit whose name translates as “Deterrence Force,” which has begun conducting “ongoing field operations to ensure security and stability.”

“Our message is clear: There will be no place for outlaws or those who threaten the security of citizens,” he said.

“Intense clashes broke out — and are still ongoing at the moment — as part of efforts to eliminate collaborators,” said witness Yahya, who asked not to be named in full for fear of retribution, on Tuesday.

Another Gaza resident, Mohammed, told AFP: “For long hours this morning there were heavy clashes between Hamas security forces and members of the Hilles family.”

The fighting was in Shejaiya, in the east of Gaza City, close to the so-called Yellow Line behind which Israeli units still hold roughly half of Gaza.

“We heard intense gunfire and explosions, and the security forces arrested some of them. We support this,” Mohammed said, also asking not to be named in full.

While many were frightened by the crackdown, some Palestinians said the sight of the armed men was reassuring.

“After the war ended and the police spread out in the streets, we started to feel safe,” said 34-year-old Abu Fadi Al-Banna, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.

As of Tuesday, Hamas had killed at least 33 people since the ceasefire took effect on Friday, according to sources in the Strip.