A horde of 30 Israeli settlers, escorted by policemen, broke into al-Aqsa Mosque as part of the morning break-in shift and carried out a round of sacrilegious tours.

Dozens more are expected to show up at the site in the next few hours. The Muslim authorities and worshipers expressed concern that the mosque would be turned into a military barrack by the Israeli police and settlers.

At the same time, the peaceful Muslim worshipers have been subjected to tough crackdowns and restrictions by the Israeli police near the main entrances to the site. Several worshipers have been searched and dozens more have had their IDs seized while attempting to enter al-Aqsa to perform their daily prayers.