In the spring of 2022, Israel was struck by a series of Arab terror attacks. The attacks, in the cities of Beersheva, Hadera, Bnei Brak, and Tel Aviv, took 14 innocent Jewish, Arab, Druze, and Christian lives. During counter-terror operations and arrest raids in the weeks that followed, over two dozen Palestinians were killed, nearly all of them in the act of attacking Israelis.
Stone throwing attacks by Palestinian rioters on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount led to violent clashes between the rioters and Israeli police officers. Ramadan prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque, though, were attended by many thousands of peaceful Muslim worshipers and passed without incident.
In recent days, Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip escalated tensions, and threatened to incite broader fighting between Israel and the Hamas terror organization that rules the Gaza Strip.
The following timeline covers major incidents during the terror wave and subsequent tensions.
As some coverage of and commentary on the tensions blur and equivocate, concealing the distinctions between civilians and assailants, lumping them together as a “cycle of violence,” or suggesting the violence is the inevitable result of the confluence of Passover, Ramadan, and Easter, the timeline helps clarify what happened, and why.
March 22: An Arab attacker kills four Israelis in a terror attack in the city of Beersheva. Hamas and Islamic Jihad praise the attack.
March 27: Two Arab gunmen attack Israelis in Hadera, killing two police officers. Hamas and Islamic Jihad praise the terror attack.
March 29: A Palestinian from near the West Bank city of Jenin goes on a terror rampage in Bnei Brak, Israel, killing three Israelis and two Ukrainians.
The Associated Press reports that “Israel in recent weeks has been taking steps aimed at calming tensions and avoiding a repeat of last year,” and notes that “the new wave of violence is greatly complicating those efforts.”
March 31: Israel raids the Jenin refugee camp to make arrests and two Palestinians are killed during an gunbattle between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.
A Palestinian stabs an Israeli civilian on a bus and is killed by a bystander.
April 1: 30,000 Muslims pray without incident on the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque on the first evening of Ramadan.
A Palestinian Hamas operative is killed in Hebron after throwing a firebomb at Israeli soldiers.
April 2: Police officers come under fire during an arrest operation by Israeli counter-terror police near Jenin, and three Palestinian members of Islamic Jihad are killed in the ensuing gunfight.
April 3: Clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israeli police outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls result in several arrests.
April 4: Clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israeli police outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls result in several arrests.
April 5: Despite recent terror attacks, Israel announces it will permit additional West Bank Palestinians to enter Jerusalem for prayer at the Al Aqsa Mosque.
April 7: A Palestinian terrorist from Jenin opens fire at Tel Aviv bar, killing three Israeli revelers and bringing the total number of killed in recent Arab terror attacks to 14.
April 8: The terrorist responsible for the Tel Aviv attack is killed during a shootout with Israeli police.
April 9: An Israeli counter-terror unit in Jenin is attacked by Palestinian gunmen. One Palestinian militant is killed in the ensuing gunfight.
April 10: A Palestinian assailant is killed after stabbing an Israeli police officer in Hebron. A Palestinian gunman who opened fire on Israeli forces in Jenin is killed. An unarmed Palestinian is shot in the legs as she runs toward soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint. She later dies from her injuries.
Palestinian rioters vandalize a Jewish holy site known as Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank..
April 11: A Palestinian who threw a firebomb at an Israeli car is killed by Israeli soldiers.
Two Hasidic Jews trying to access Joseph’s Tomb are shot, presumably by Palestinian assailants.
April 12: After stabbing an Israeli police officer in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, a Palestinian from Hebron is shot and killed.
The Hamas terror group incites Palestinians by falsely claiming Israel gave permission for Jewish extremists to sacrifice a goat on the Temple Mount.
April 13: A Palestinian is killed during clashes in the West Bank town of Beita. Palestinian officials later say he was killed while inadvertently driving through the area of the clashes. Another two Palestinians are killed in clashes with Israeli troops.
April 14: Two Palestinians are killed in the West Bank after opening fire on security forces. The Associated Press reports that at least “24 Palestinians have been killed in the latest wave of violence…, most after carrying out deadly attacks or in clashes with Israeli security forces.”
Hamas calls on Palestinians to “mobilize on the yards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, April 15, to protect it from the colonial settler extremist groups’ storming of Al-Aqsa and to thwart their plans to desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque in the so-called ‘slaughtering sacrifices.’”
April 15: Israeli police clash with Palestinian rioters on the Temple Mount. Palestinian threw rocks at Israeli police officers, who then entered the Temple Mount to arrest the attackers. Palestinians shoot fireworks and throw stones at the police. After Israeli troops clear the area of rioters, tens of thousands of Muslims worshipers attend prayers without incident.
April 17: Clashes renew on the Temple Mount after Israeli police enter the compound “in order to keep out Palestinians who gathered stones and put up improvised barriers in an effort to block Jewish visitors,” Haaretz reports.
April 18: A rocket is fired into Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Overnight, Israel responds with airstrikes on Hamas military sites.
April 20: A second rocket is fired from Gaza into Israel.