Basim Naim, head of Hamas’s Council on International Relations, May 2023
“You have millions of Muslims in Europe. Why should they keep silent when they see that the holy places are insulted or stormed by Jews? It means you are creating … a new conflict area in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and America. Everywhere.
“I have to recall that it is not a conflict between Gaza and Israel – it is a conflict between Palestinians everywhere and Israel. And if it is about the holy places, it means that you are recruiting millions and millions of Muslims to the same conflict.
“And you are converting a political conflict into a religious one, which makes it very, very complicated and much more difficult to solve … There’s no negotiation, compromise or coexistence … because it is all or none.”Eliyahu Freedman, “Before Flag Day, Hamas warns tensions turning more religious,” Al Jazeera, May 17, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/5/17/before-flag-day-hamas-warns-tensions-turning-more-religious.