The settlers entered the mosque in successive groups and toured its courtyards, performing Talmudic rituals in the eastern region of the mosque.

The incursion took place under the protection of the Israeli police, who deployed hundreds of their personnel in Al-Aqsa squares and at its gates in preparation for the settlers' arrival.

The presence of Israeli police and settlers at the Islamic holy site is a provocation against the Muslim population of Jerusalem who worship at Al-Aqsa, according to the Jordanian authority in charge of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

Under a longstanding status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times but are not allowed to pray there.

Israeli police also harassed Muslim worshippers at the mosque, according to the Palestinian Press Agency (Safa).

They restricted the entry of young Palestinian men into the mosque and confiscated identity cards of those entering in through its external gates. The police also stationed members in front of the Dome of the Rock and prevented worshipers from passing through the area.

Palestinians already inside the mosque responded to the settlers’ incursion with with prayers, chants and shouts of “god is the greatest.”

The police arrested one young man while removing the rest.