Mishaal: Israel Using Gaza as Testing Ground for Iran War

In an interview in Ankara, Turkey, published by the Anatolia news agency on Monday, Political Bureau Chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal accused Israel of using the Gaza Strip as a "guinea pig" for testing its military capabilities before attacking Iran.

He said that Israel chose Gaza to test its anti-missile system, and accused Israel of preparing for war against Iran and for other conflicts.

Mishaal charged Israel with exercising "state terrorism" against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

He defended the Palestinian terrorists' firing of rockets at Israeli civilian targets, saying that they were done in self-defense. "Israel attacked and our brothers in Gaza have the right to defend themselves," he maintained.

Turkish president Abdullah Gul and prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Mishaal and his delegation during his visit to Turkey.