Over 25 lakh devotees expected to visit Kanaka Durga Temple for Dasara festivities in Vijayawada

On September 28, 2000, then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon made a visit to the Temple Mount and al-Aqsa Mosque, which initiated what became known as the Second Intifada. The uprising lasted from 2000 to 2004, resulting in over 1,000 Israeli deaths and between 2,000 and 5,000 Palestinian casualties, with more than 50,000 individuals sustaining injuries due to attacks such as stabbings, car ramming, and suicide bombings.

The high number of suicide bombers stemmed from the absence of a security barrier separating the West Bank from the rest of Israel, leading to the construction of the barrier and checkpoints for Palestinians moving through the region. IDF estimates suggest that this security barrier significantly reduced Palestinian attacks against civilians, nearly eliminating suicide bombings while also decreasing stabbing and shooting incidents outside the West Bank.

The Second Intifada officially ended in February 2005 after both Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to cease all violence at the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit. One of the deadliest incidents during this period occurred on August 9, 2001, when Ahlam Tamimi and Izzedine Suheil el-Masri carried out a bombing at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, killing 15 people, mostly children, and injuring over 100.

Tamimi, who survived the blast and now resides in Jordan, admitted to scouting the location beforehand due to its popularity among children. She was apprehended by the Israeli security forces and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003, eventually being released under a deal in 2011 that freed Gilad Schalit from Hamas captivity.

Other notable attacks during the Second Intifada included the suicide bombing at the Park Hotel in Netanya on March 27, 2002, which killed 30 people and injured over 140 during a Passover seder, and the Dolphinarium Discotheque Bombing in Tel Aviv on June 1, 2001, resulting in 21 deaths and over 120 injuries. Palestinian terrorists also targeted locations beyond Israel's central cities, with bombings in Haifa, such as the Matza Restaurant and Bus 37, leaving 15 and 17 people dead, respectively.