ISTANBUL
Attacks by the Daesh militant group in the Gaza Strip could lead to chaos in the region, Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, has said.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency in Istanbul on Wednesday, Salah – a longstanding icon of the Palestinian resistance – voiced concern about possible Daesh attacks in the Hamas-run coastal enclave.
“No one can predict what would happen if Daesh became active in the Gaza Strip,” Salah said.
Last week, a Daesh-affiliated website released a video in which it threatened to topple Hamas and seize control of strip because the Palestinian resistance group – which has governed the enclave since 2007 – had failed to apply Islamic law in the territory.
Salah, for his part, blasted the extremist group’s threats.
“We totally reject all actions and attacks carried out by the terrorist Daesh organization,” he said, going on to assert: “Daesh is harmful to Islam.”
Along with threatening to attack Hamas officials, Daesh – which last year overran vast swathes of Iraq and Syria – also vowed to destroy the “Jewish state [Israel] and the [secular] Palestinian group Fatah.”
The Gaza Strip has witnessed mounting tension between Hamas and pro-Daesh groups, some members of which have recently been detained by the Gaza authorities.
