Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, accompanied by thousands of extremist Israeli settlers, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces.

According to the Islamic Waqf Administration, more than 3,228 Israeli settlers, including Ben Gvir and several Israeli officials, entered the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the morning hours to mark what Israeli groups refer to as the anniversary of the destruction of the alleged Jewish temple.

Israeli occupation police sealed the gates of the mosque to Muslim worshippers during the incursion and imposed tight restrictions on Palestinians seeking to access the Old City and the holy sanctuary, witnesses and local sources said.

During the raid, Ben Gvir and groups of settlers were allowed to openly perform religious rituals, sing, pray, and engage in what Palestinian officials described as provocative acts inside the compound, despite the longstanding arrangements governing the holy site.

Dozens of settlers also waved Israeli flags and sang the Israeli national anthem inside the mosque compound while heavily armed Israeli police secured the area.

Palestinian officials and Islamic authorities have repeatedly warned that the growing frequency and scale of settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, often escorted by Israeli security forces, constitute dangerous provocations aimed at changing the historical and legal status quo of one of Islam's holiest sites.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, revered as Islam's third-holiest site, has become a recurring flashpoint in occupied Jerusalem, with Palestinian leaders accusing Israeli authorities of facilitating settler incursions and restricting Muslim worshippers while allowing increasingly assertive visits by extremist groups.

The latest incursion comes amid continued tensions across the occupied Palestinian territories and growing international concern over Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. (ILKHA)