Hamas leader: Don't leave Jerusalem isolated

Hamas leader and spokesperson Hasam Bedran called on Thursday morning for Palestinians across the West Bank to support Jerusalem in the current "battle."

Translation: We call on our people in the West Bank not to leave Jerusalem's side during this battle. We must engage with the occupation on all points of contact. We appreciate the difficulty of your circumstances due to restrictions imposed on you by the authorities, but they give us a fresh opportunity to change the bitter status quo in the West Bank.

A second Hamas spokesperson on Thursday said that the attempted assassination of Yehuda Glick yesterday was a "natural" reaction to violations of al-Aqsa, which have seen groups of Israeli settlers, often accompanied by armed guard, enter the Islamic holy site.

Commenting on the events of the morning, Islamic Jihad said that closing the al-Aqsa compound for the first time since 1967 is "a dangerous act of emnity in the context of plans to divide the site."