Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas’s diaspora affairs office made the call to arms from Qatar

The former leader of Hamas has issued calls for Muslims across the world to “take to the streets” in a global day of protest against Israel on Friday.

Khaled Mashal, who was the leader of Hamas for three years from 2014-2017 and is now based in Qatar, issued a statement to Reuters early today saying that this was a “moment of truth” for the Arab world.

He said: “[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,

“To all scholars who teach jihad … to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application [of jihad],”