Hamas declared the creation of a “popular army” at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Northern Gaza Strip on Friday,  according to a report by the AFP.

A spokesman for the  Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades – Hamas’s military branch – said the 2,500 recruits would form “the first section of the popular army for the liberation of Al-Aksa and of Palestine,” according the AFP report,

Hamas called on all Palestinians, especially youths, to “move to save the Aksa Mosque and defend Jerusalem against the Israeli siege imposed on the city.” Friday should be turned into a “special day in the history of the Palestinian struggle to preserve our rights in Jerusalem,” it said. The movement also called on Palestinians to clash with soldiers and settlers in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Source: Jerusalem Post