At the beginning of Ramadan in 2021, Israeli police entered Al-Aqsa Mosque and severed loudspeaker cables used to broadcast the muezzin’s ritual call to prayer.
In the same month, Israeli police closed the staired plaza outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate.
Violent incidents occurred throughout Israel and the West bank, with rockets being fired into Israel from the Gaza strip
Sheikh Jarrah controversy
Apartments in East Jerusalem that were originally on land owned by Arabs (pre 1880’s) then Jews (post 1880’s) then Arabs (post 1948) then Jews (post 1967) were the subject of dispute when Israeli’s attempted to evict Palestinian residents.,
Political instability
Mahmoud Abbas indefinitely postponed the May 22nd 2021 Palestinian legislative elections due to fear of his party, Fatah, losing the upcoming elections, prompting Hamas to resume rocket fire.
Escalation
Between May 10th-14th, Israeli security forces injured approximately 1,000 Palestinian protestors in east Jerusalem over Sheikh Jarrah protests that eventually spread to al-Aqsa Mosque, Lod, and other Arab localities in Israel and the West Bank.
Sheikh Jarrah
Israeli settlers and far-right political party members of Otzma Yehudit clashed here.
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
Police clashed with worshippers at the al-Aqsa compound from May 7th-May 10th.
West Bank
After Friday prayers on May 14th, to May 17th, police and protestors clashed, with protestors protesting in more than 200 locations.
Arab communities in Israel
On May 11th, Netanyahu declared a state of emergency in Lod, marking the first time since 1966 that Israel has used emergency powers over an Arab community.
Gaza
Hamas demand Israel remove all of its police and military from the Haram al Sharif mosque and Sheik Jarrah by May 10th. Once they did not, Hamas fired another 150 rockets into Israel.
On May 11th, Hamas and PIJ launched hundreds of rockets at Ashdod and Ashkelon.
On May 14th, Israel launched extensive attacks against Hamas’ tunnel networks, killing hundreds of Hamas personnel and assassinated 20 Hamas commanders, as well as destroying most of their rocket production capabilities.
Hamas death toll was later revised to dozens, as Hamas commanders doubted the Israeli ruse of reporting a ground invasion.
By the end of the campaign, over 4,360 rockets and mortar shells had been fired at southern and central Israel.
Around 60-70 rockets hit populated areas after the Iron Dome failed to intercept them.
The IDF killed Hamas militants attempting to use tunnels to cross raid into Israeli territory.
Lebanon and Syria
Several rockets were fired from Syria and Lebanon, with a few Hezbollah members from Lebanon trying to cross into Irsael. Some made it in and set fires near Metulla.
Casualties and damage
13 people in Israel were killed.
260 Palestinians were killed, with the UN and HRW saying half of them were civilians.