A Palestinian leader has given tips for dealing with a rocky marriage – which includes a husband beating their wife ‘so long as it does not make them ugly’.

Hassan al-Laham, who holds the title of ‘mufti [legal expert] of Gaza’, was speaking on official Palestinian Authority TV.

He detailed what steps a husband ought to take to try and prevent a divorce, which included hitting their wife ‘jokingly’.

He said a husband should first give a warning to his wife while he demonstrates ‘good relations, dialogue, respect and humanity’.

He then offers the gentle reminder that ‘you did not buy her her as a slave…nor did you buy her in the market.’

Following that, he said the warning should be made with a ‘good word, good treatment and a positive look’.

He added how this ought to be done ‘inside the home’ and they must show no problems in their marriage to the outside world.

As well as this, the marital couple will also sleep in separate beds.

If this fails to resolve the tensions, Laham advised the husband to take the next step – hitting, but ‘hitting that does not make her ugly.’

Speaking to the female TV host, he said: ‘In other words, not hitting that will bring the police, and break her hand and cause bleeding, or hitting that makes the face ugly.

‘The hitting is not meant to disfigure, harm or degrade. The hitting will be like a joke. He will hit her jokingly.’

He then repeated: ‘Not a blow that breaks a bone or makes the face ugly.

‘The hitting is a kind of reminder that the love and friendship that Allah commanded is still found between us [the couple].’