Israeli Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Compound Amid Flag Day Tensions

Hundreds of Israeli settlers, led by Likud Knesset Member Ariel Kellner and protected by heavy police presence, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. The intrusion coincided with Israel's annual Flag Day, commemorating the 1967 capture of East Jerusalem. Settlers performed Talmudic rituals, including full-body prostrations, while Israeli police restricted access for Palestinian worshippers, barring men under 60 and women under 50 from entering the mosque since dawn. Reports indicate that security forces used force against individuals at the gates and confined Waqf staff and students inside the mosque to clear the courtyard. Concurrently, violence escalated in the occupied West Bank, where settlers engaged in arson, forced evacuations, and stone-throwing attacks. Incidents included the burning of farmland in al-Mughayyir and the displacement of a Bedouin family in the Jordan Valley. These events occur against a backdrop of increased settler violence since the onset of the war in Gaza, prompting recent European Union sanctions against violent settlers and organizations. The article highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding the status quo at holy sites and the illegal expansion of settlements under international law.