Hundreds of Iraqi demonstrators arrived at the Jordanian border late on Wednesday, hoping to protest Israel's violence against Palestinians at the Hashemite Kingdom's border with the occupied West Bank, The New Arab’s Arabic-language service reported.

A local Iraqi army official confirmed that protesters had assembled in a village near the Jordanian border to “send a message to the Israeli occupation”.

The official said there would be “no attempts” to cross the Jordan's own border with Israel. The New Arab has been unable to confirm whether the protesters managed to enter Jordan by the time of publication.

Dargham Majed, a prominent activist from the holy Shia city of Karbala, called on the Iraqi protesters to take the lead of their counterparts in Jordan and Lebanon, who have defiantly marched towards Israeli borders in a show of solidarity with Palestinians.

In a statement last week, top cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who met with Pope Francis early this year during the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, called for “all free people to support and aid Palestinians to reclaim their stolen rights”.