Scores of Zionist settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Scores of Zionist settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, a Palestinian official said.

"As many as 55 settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa compound through al-Magharbah gate under heavy protection from Israeli forces," General Director of Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib said.

"Settlers toured the compound and tried to perform Talmudic rituals near the Dome of the Rock," he stated.

Al-Khatib added that the Muslim worshipers stood up to the settlers and shouted "Allaho Akbar (God is great)", forcing them to leave through al-Silsila gate.

Eyewitness reported that the Zionist police detained a Palestinian man and two women once the settlers left the compound.

The detainees have been identified as Taha Shawahne, Refkah Al-Rjabi and Sameha Shaheen.

The Zionist entity occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed "Jewish state" in a move never recognized by the international community.