Hamas released a statement on their website on Thursday declaring that protests will occur after Friday prayers in a bid to “deliver a message to the (Israeli) occupiers that campaigns of arrests will not end the Quds (Jerusalem) Intifada.”
Palestinians have been protesting repeated illegal Israeli and Jewish settler attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the closing of the Muslim holy site to worshippers on numerous occasions. Protests have taken place in occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Since October 1, Israeli army and police have killed at least 52 Palestinians.
The call for a “Friday of Rage” came after senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh declared the ongoing unrest in the occupied territories and the West Bank to be an Intifada.
Intifada is a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. The first Intifada took place between 1987 and 1993, and the second one from September 2000 to 2005.