They went in after hundreds of Muslim “worshippers” stoned police. From FoxNews:
Thousands of Muslim worshippers have barricaded themselves inside the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after Israeli police stormed the disputed holy site, firing plastic bullets, stun grenades and tear gas to disperse hundreds of Palestinian stone throwers.
Police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said officers entered the Al Aqsa Mosque compound after Muslim worshippers threw stones at police deployed nearby.
Police said there were no injuries. However, one worshipper, who refused to give his name, said he was hit in the leg by a plastic bullet.
Mohammed Hussein, a senior official in the Islamic Trust, which administers the mosque compound, tried to calm the situation, urging worshippers to go home, witnesses said. Most left, but several hundred stone throwers remained behind.
The mosque compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of biblical Jewish temples. The walled site is revered by Muslims and Jews and is one of the flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.