BETHLEHEM - A Gaza court has rejected an appeal against the death by hanging of a murder convict, a rights group said.

The Gaza Court of Cassation on Sunday refused the appeal of defendant N.J.D., from Gaza City after he was sentenced to death in April 2011, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said.

PCHR says the ruling is the fifth death sentence to be confirmed in Gaza this year.

The number of death sentences issued by the Palestinian Authority has risen to 126 sentences since 1994, of which 25 have been issued in the West Bank and 101 in Gaza, the rights group says.

Rights organizations have called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a form of punishment as it constitutes a violation of international human rights laws and standards.