Speaking in an exclusive interview with Turkey’s official
news agency, Anadolu, on Sunday, Khaled Meshaal said the controversial and
so-called muezzin bill "has drawn a strong reaction from the Palestinian people
and Muslims worldwide.”
Meshaal added that Israel has opted to reverse the proposed
bill for the fear that it would serve as an excuse to stop Jewish rituals in
the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds, stressing that the Palestinian nation’s outrage
signaled that muffling Muslim calls to prayers is their red line.
The Hamas leader noted that there will be no stability in
the Middle East region, unless Palestinian rights are recognized and Israel
withdraws from Palestinian lands, Press TV reported.
During a cabinet meeting last Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said he would support the bill, claiming that calls to
prayer make excessive noise.
Palestinian leaders argue that the bill is not about noise,
but is rather intended only to silence mosques.
"This bill is the ugly product of Islamophobia that has come
to dominate Israel,” Thabet Abu Ras of the Abraham Fund commented.
Haneen Zoabi, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset
(parliament), also said, "The issue is not about noise in their ears but about
the noise in their minds. What disturbs them so much is the noise of the
Palestinians' presence in their own homeland.”
Meshaal also called on US President-elect Donald Trump to
change US foreign policy and strive to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict.
"We realize that regional and international developments
affect the Palestinian cause and all regional issues, but what makes history is
the struggle of the peoples,” he said.
The Hamas leader further described an end to Israel’s
occupation of Palestinian lands and sacred sites as the key to regional
stability.
On November 10, Meshaal urged Trump to withdraw the
longstanding American support for Israel, stating that the Tel Aviv regime is a
"burden” for Washington.