Hamas says it is working to avoid escalation with Israel

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas said Saturday it is communicating with the UN and regional countries to avoid escalation with Israel amid rising tensions in East Jerusalem.

Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq said his movement had sent messages to mediators that "Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque are a red line and that any provocation will be met with confrontation.”

Hamas “does not seek a new war in Gaza,” a Hamas statement quoted al-Rishq as saying. “The resistance is following all developments, and has its hand on the trigger.”

“We are one people, and if our holy sites are violated, our people in all areas will have the duty to defend them," he added.

On Friday, Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh held phone calls with Egyptian officials and the UN to discuss the situation at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli forces inside the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Friday amid rising tensions across the Palestinian territories.

The current tension has raised fears of a possible military confrontation between Hamas and Israel akin to last year when escalation in Jerusalem triggered the worst round of violence in years in the Gaza Strip, in which more than 260 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara