LONDON
The political leader of Hamas, Khalid Meshaal, has warned in a television interview that Israeli Premier Netanyahu is "playing with fire" and blamed him for being responsible for deaths of five Israelis in an attack on a West Jerusalem synagogue last month.
Meshaal told U.K.-based Sky News in an exclusive interview broadcast on Friday that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis "will lead to chaos" and create a "bloodbath" in the region if it remains unsolved.
He added: "We warn against keeping the Palestinian issue without a solution and stripping the Palestinian people of hope."
Talking about the recent attacks which shook Jerusalem and tensions over the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Meshaal accused the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the rise of violence.
He said: "For every action there’s a reaction.
"The action of the occupation targeting the Islamic and the Christian Holy sites in Jerusalem and Palestine, and specifically the Al Aqsa Mosque, brings about the angry Palestinian reaction."
'National fight'
He went on: "Netanyahu is playing with fire when he allows members of his government, the Knesset, and the extremists to repeatedly storm the Al Aqsa mosque - that's dangerous."
"Our fight is a national fight, but Netanyahu is turning it into a religious fight. He bears responsibility for the consequences of what is happening."
He said Hamas was committed to reconciliation with the Fatah group which comprises President Mahmoud Abbas' government, saying it was a national necessity.
He also welcomed the symbolic vote which took place in the British Parliament in support of recognizing a Palestinian state, stating "Palestinian's appreciated the move and described it as an "excellent development".
www.aa.com.tr/en
