JERUSALEM — Palestinian youths, some of them masked, clashed with Israeli police officers who entered Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound early Sunday in what has become an increasingly familiar occurrence on the eve of Jewish holidays.

This time, the police said, they had intelligence that youths had holed up inside the eighth-century mosque overnight and were planning to confront Israeli security forces in an attempt to prevent visits on the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, the two-day holiday that began at sundown on Sunday.

The contested holy site is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, and known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, one of the three holiest sites in Islam.

The police said in a statement that the youths hurled stones, fireworks and metal bars at the officers, who responded with tear gas and other riot dispersal tactics. The confrontation was quickly contained, and the compound was opened to visitors.