Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday morning, entering through the Moroccan Gate under heavy protection from Israeli occupation forces

The Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem reported that the settlers conducted provocative tours inside the compound and performed Talmudic rituals in yet another escalation of violations at the sacred site

At the same time Israeli police imposed further restrictions on Palestinian worshippers attempting to access the mosque, confiscating their identity cards at the gates and limiting entry

This incursion follows a similar storming on Sunday during which settlers chanted slogans in support of the so-called "Temple Mount" in actions widely condemned as deliberate provocations backed by armed police

Palestinian organisations and religious leaders have issued renewed calls for mass mobilisation, urging Jerusalemites and Palestinians across the occupied territories to head to Al Aqsa and maintain a state of Ribat, a spiritual act of steadfast presence and defence

Al Aqsa Mosque has faced near daily incursions by settlers and Israeli forces excluding Fridays and Saturdays. Palestinian authorities warn these repeated violations are part of an organised effort to alter the historical and religious status quo and to impose a policy of temporal and spatial division at one of Islam’s holiest sites