On the evening of 7 April, two Israelis were killed and 12 were injured during a shooting incident in the heart of the Israeli capital.

Videos shared across social media show people fleeing from the scene of the attack.

CCTV of people escaping the shooting attack in Tel Aviv pic.twitter.com/jV1FQ4mGCd

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) April 7, 2022

Shin Bet identified the perpetrator as a 28-year-old Palestinian from Jenin in the occupied West Bank, who they said had entered Tel Aviv “illegally.”

The suspected gunman was shot dead by police near a mosque in Jaffa early on 8 April after a massive manhunt by hundreds of occupation officers and army special forces who searched building by building.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

On 2 April, occupation forces killed three Palestinians during a shootout in Jenin, just hours after resident commemorated the 20-year anniversary of a brutal Israeli assault on the refugee camp that has become emblematic of the occupation.

Over recent weeks, Palestinians have ramped up retaliatory attacks against Israeli forces and settlers, carrying out a series of operations that have left at least 11 Israelis dead since 22 March.

Eight Palestinians have been killed during the same period.

In the wake of the latest attack, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tel Aviv would broaden its operations against the “wave of terror” and that the attackers and those who send them would pay a “heavy price.”

Palestinian resistance factions have praised the latest retaliatory attack against the occupation, with Hamas officials calling it “a natural and legitimate response to the escalation of crimes by the occupation against our people, our land, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

This attack took place just two days after occupation officials announced that Palestinian males between 12 and 40 would be banned from praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque during Friday prayers throughout the month of Ramadan.

A day later, extremist settler groups revealed their intentions to storm the Muslim holy site during Passover to “practice animal sacrifice.”

Amid the rise in tensions between settlers and Palestinians, applications for firearm permits have skyrocketed in the occupied territories.

During a speech on 30 March, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on licensed gun owners to arm themselves in public.

“Citizens of Israel, we are currently experiencing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” Bennett declared. “What is expected of you, citizens of Israel? Alertness and responsibility. Open your eyes. Whoever has a license to carry a weapon, this is the time to carry it.”