Photo: Amir Farshad Ebrahimi/Flickr

Scores of Israeli army tanks and armored personnel carriers are massed near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip (file photo).

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has called for cutting diplomatic and economic ties between Arab countries and Israel.

The influential Islamist group called on people to stage demonstrations on Thursday evening and tomorrow following Friday prayers against, what they described as, the "criminal aggression."

In a statement, the Brotherhood condemned the recent Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, saying "In dangerous escalation, the Israeli army, whose is based on killing and terrorism since its establishment, has launched attacks on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom of seven Palestinians, starting with Ahmed al-Jabari, top commander of Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam brigades, and injuring 14 others".

"We must strive to terminate this aggression through an Arab League meeting where decisions must be taken to threaten the interests of this entity and those who support it", the statement said.

It added that the Organization of the Islamic Conference must also convene in light of this "dangerous situation", and communications with non-alignment and African countries must take place to take decisive decisions.

The Brotherhood asked the Palestinian authorities to "immediately terminate its coordination with the Zionist occupation, release all Palestinian detainees, who belong to the Hamas movement, to express their concerns through all means, and reach national Palestinian reconciliation".