Hamas calls for attacks on Israelis

GAZA, PALESTINIAN TERRITORY— Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers on Saturday called on Palestinians to attack Israeli forces in Jerusalem after a sacred site was closed following a deadly assault there.

Hamas described the closure of the site — known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount — in a statement as a “religious war” and Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum called on the Palestinian “uprising” to target the Israeli army and West Bank settlers.

Israel made the rare move after three Palestinian assailants opened fire there Friday, killing two Israeli police officers, before being shot dead. The attackers were Muslim citizens of Israel.

On Saturday, the White House condemned the attack in a stronglyworded statement.

“The people of the United States are heartbroken that terrorists brutally gunned down two Israeli police officers,” press secretary Sean Spicer said. “There must be zero tolerance for terrorism. It is incompatible with achieving peace and we must condemn it in the strongest terms, defeat it, and eradicate it.”