JERUSALEM (Palestine) — Hundreds of Israeli colonists on Tuesday morning stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli police forces, Palestine News Agency (WAFA) reported.

According to the Islamic Endowments Department in Palestine, also known as Waqf, around 1,200 settlers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in groups, performing Talmudic rituals within its courtyards.

It said this unprecedented incursion is part of a series of planned operations, with thousands more settlers expected to enter the mosque throughout the day, both in the morning and evening.

It added that the occupation forces obstructed the entry of worshipers into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and deployed large forces at its gates to facilitate the colonists’ storming of the holy Islamic place.

Coinciding with the incursion, Israeli police transformed the Old City of Jerusalem into a heavily fortified military zone.

Hundreds of officers were deployed in close proximity around the mosque’s gates and throughout the Old City. The heightened security measures included strict controls on access for worshippers.

Preparations are underway by groups affiliated with the so-called Temple Mount movement to commemorate what they refer to as the “Destruction of the Temple.”

Their plans include a human chain around the walls of the Old City scheduled for Monday evening, with the event starting from the Buraq Wall and extending towards the Old City. This will be followed by a flag-waving march.

Furthermore, these groups are calling for a large-scale incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday to mark the same event. — BERNAMA-WAFA