Hamas leader calls for 'global day of jihad' on Friday, and asks Muslims to 'take to the streets' in protest against Israel

 A former Hamas chief has called for protests to take place across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians, and for the peoples of neighbouring countries to join the fight against Israel.

'[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,' said Khaled Meshaal, who currently heads Hamas's diaspora office.

Meshaal, who is based in Qatar, said the governments and peoples of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have a bigger duty to support the Palestinians.

'Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan... This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility,' Meshaal said in a recorded statement. 'To all scholars who teach jihad... to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application (of theories).'

Jordan and Lebanon are home to the largest number of Palestinian refugees.

Meshaal's call for a Friday 13th uprising was reiterated by Hamas itself, according to the Israeli-run, Washington DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

MEMRI said that Hamas urged its supporters in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel to rise up in what he called 'the Al-Aqsa Flood' - echoing what the the secretive Palestinian mastermind Mohammed Deif calls the attack he launched on Saturday against Israel.

The phrase Israel's most wanted man used in an audio tape broadcast as Hamas fired thousands of rockets out of the Gaza Strip over the weekend signalled the attack was their payback for Israeli raids at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque.

'We declare next Friday, ''The Friday of the Al-Aqsa Flood,'' as a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world,' Meshaal's statement said, which was sent to Reuters news agency.

'It is a day to rally support, offer aid, and participate actively.

'It is a day to expose the crimes of the occupation, isolate it, and foil all its aggressive schemes. It is a day to demonstrate our love for Palestine, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa.

'It is a day for sacrifice, heroism, and dedication, and to earn the honour of defending the first Qibla of Muslims, the third holiest mosque, and the ascension of the trusted Messenger.'