Israel Jerusalem car terror attack
The covered body of a Palestinian motorist lies on the tracks of the light railway in Jerusalem after he allegedly rammed into pedestrians on a crowded Jerusalem street in what Israeli police said appeared to be a deliberate Palestinian attack. Reuters

Islamist militant group Hamas have claimed responsibility for the hit and run attack in Jerusalem which killed one and injured 13.

The group also called for a third intifada - an uprising - in the city to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, say Israeli media reports. Tensions continue to escalate following the shooting of Israeli activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick and the closure of the mosque.

The attack saw Ibrahim al-Akri, from the Palestinian Arab neighbourhood of Shuafat in East Jerusalem, plough his car into two crowds of civilians in the city before being shot dead by Israeli security forces.

Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri praised al-Akri for his "heroic operation" and called him a "martyr".

"We congratulate the activity carried out by Jerusalem's blessed heroes that targeted soldiers and security men," the terror group said in a statement.

"This was a result of the crimes of the Zionists who continue to attack the worshipers and to violate the Palestinians' holy sites," they added.

"We call on the people of Jerusalem and the West Bank and all of the Palestinians to carry out more of these activities with full force in order to defend al-Aqsa."

This week, Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel told Israeli radio station Kol Berama that the country will eventually replace Al-Aqsa Mosque with a Jewish temple.

Last week, fierce clashes erupted in east Jerusalem after the suspected gunman in the attempted assassination of right-wing Israeli activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick was shot dead by Israeli security forces.

The body of Moataz Hejazi , a 32-year-old convicted member of Islamic Jihad, was seen by several witnesses lying in a pool of blood on the rooftop of his three-storey house.

After the attempted assassination of Glick, the situation at the place of worship for Muslims, Jews and Christians was so tense that Israeli authorities decided to seal off the site, enraging Palestinians and causing their president Mahmoud Abbas to say that its closure was "almost a declaration of war".

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