526 Israeli Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound on Israel's 78th Independence Day

On April 22, 2026 — Israel's 78th Independence Day (Yom HaAtzmaut) — 526 Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound (Haram al-Sharif) in East Jerusalem under Israeli police escort. Settlers raised Israeli flags inside the compound courtyard and performed Talmudic prayers and prostration rituals in the eastern section, including near the Dome of the Rock. The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf issued an urgent protest statement condemning the incursions as violations of the status quo agreement governing the holy site. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry formally condemned the incursion as 'a blatant violation of international law.' The Jerusalem Governorate described the incursions as 'a dangerous bid to impose Israeli control over Al-Aqsa.' The storming is part of an escalating pattern: National Security Minister Ben-Gvir personally led an incursion on April 12 — his third in 2026 — and settler visits under police escort have become near-daily during Jewish holidays. The April 22 figure of 526 settlers represents one of the highest single-day incursion counts of 2026.