Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Thursday morning through the Mughrabi Gate, under the protection of heavily armed Israeli occupation police, according to the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem.

The Department reported that the settlers toured the courtyards of the mosque and performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern area of the sacred site. The intrusion comes amid growing tensions surrounding Israeli incursions into the holy compound, particularly during religious holidays.

Israeli occupation forces imposed tight restrictions on Palestinian worshipers attempting to enter Al-Aqsa, checking identification cards and detaining some individuals at the mosque's outer gates. Such measures have increasingly hindered Muslim access to the site, especially during times of increased settler activity.

The latest escalation coincides with the beginning of the so-called Hebrew Passover holiday, during which far-right settler groups have called for mass incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound.

Palestinian religious and community leaders continue to urge citizens to increase their presence at the mosque in the coming days to protect it from settler violations and preserve its sanctity as a Muslim place of worship.

Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, has long been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with repeated settler incursions heightening fears of further escalation in the occupied city. (ILKHA)