Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli police when settlers made a provocative tour in the Mosque's yards and performed their Talmudic rituals, OnIslam.net reported.
Omar Alkeswani, a Palestinian manager of al-Aqsa, said police entered the compound and that 20 people were wounded in the clashes.
Photos posted on social media sites by Palestinian worshippers have shown desecrated copies of the Quran and shells of stun grenades inside the mosque.
The clashes came amid continued tensions over right-wing Jewish demands to be able to pray inside the compound and the expansion of Israeli settlement building in east Jerusalem.
Israeli police used incendiary bombs and toxic tear gas bombs, as well as rubber bullets, leaving a number of Palestinians suffocated.
Al-Aqsa is the Muslims’ first Qiblah [direction Muslims take during prayers] and it is the third holiest shrine after Al Ka`bah in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
Its significance has been reinforced by the Islamic incident of Al Isra’a and Al Mi’raj — the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him).