Ahmed Bahar, first deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, has accused the Israeli government of dragging the region into a religious war because of its persistence in desecrating the Islamic holy sites.

In a press release on Wednesday, Bahar warned Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu of playing with fire, asserting that “Netanyahu would be the first to burn with this fire that would lead to the downfall of his government and usurping entity, which was founded on bloodshed, terrorism and crimes.”

“Al-Khalil city will remain a purely Palestinian city forever and part and parcel of historic Palestine, which is protected by its heroic people and its valiant resistance with their lives and blood,” the Palestinian lawmaker said.

He underlined that “Netanyahu and his fake entity would be doomed to demise soon.”

Bahar called for a Palestinian popular uprising to defend the Islamic holy sites and curb the occupation’s schemes.

He also called on the international community to intervene immediately to put an end to Israel’s violations against the Palestinian holy sites.

One Wednesday evening, Netanyahu desecrated the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil city a few hours after a similar provocative visit by Israeli president Reuven Rivlin.