JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL 

More than 120 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday under police protection, a Palestinian official said.

The official from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, who preferred not to be named, told Anadolu that 121 illegal settlers entered the flashpoint site - 59 in the morning period and 62 after the noon prayer.

He said the incursions took place in groups through the Moroccan Gate in the western wall of the mosque, under protection of Israeli police.

During the raids, the illegal settlers performed prayers and Talmudic rituals as part of their continued violations of the mosque’s sanctity, the official added.

Since 2003, Israeli police have allowed illegal settlers to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound despite repeated objections from the Islamic Waqf, which administers the site.

Violations at the compound have increased since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir assumed office as Israel’s national security minister in late 2022, with Ben-Gvir and other ministers and members of the Knesset participating in such visits, Palestinian officials said.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.