[20] The Palestinian violence during this period was characterized by its uncoordinated nature; most attacks were opportunistic "lone wolf" assaults on Israelis, carried out by individuals acting alone and not attributable to any political faction.

These include Israel appearing to seek to change the "status quo" surrounding the Temple Mount,[21] social-media campaigns that may have motivated the attackers,[27][28] frustration over the failure of peace talks and the suppression of human rights,[29][30] and incitement.

[citation needed] Late in the summer of 2015, suspicion spread among Palestinians that Israel was attempting to change the status quo of the Mount by imposing age and gender restrictions on Muslim access while allowing entry to larger groups of Jewish activists.

Visitors on that date included Agricultural Minister Uri Ariel, who was filmed praying at the site in front of his police escorts, openly flaunting the prohibition against Jewish prayers.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who signed the ban, said in a statement that the Mourabitoon and Mourabitaat are a "main cause in the creation of tension and violence on the Temple Mount (al Aqsa compound) specifically and Jerusalem in general".

The organization examined four cases, 19-year-old Sa'ad Muhammad Youssef al-Atrash, 17-year-old Dania Jihad Hussein Ershied, 19-year-old Fadi Alloun, and 18-year-old Hadeel al-Hashlamon, which it claimed were deliberately shot while they posed no imminent threat to life and that the killings therefore were extrajudicial.

Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, stated:[56] "There is mounting evidence that, as tensions have risen dramatically, in some cases Israeli forces appear to have ripped up the rulebook and resorted to extreme and unlawful measures.

[57] B'Tselem accused Netanyahu of overseeing a "new pseudo-normative reality" in which a "shoot to kill" approach should always be adopted by police officers or armed civilians regarding suspected Palestinian attackers.

Abbas was most often blamed, but many others such as Hamas, the Islamic Movement in Israel, Arab Israeli politicians,[61] imams,[62] Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström,[63] and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon[64] were also accused of encouraging or inciting violence.

"[67] American politicians, such as Secretary of State John Kerry and the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel, also accused Abbas of incitement.

[68] According to Shin Bet, the violence was incited by the Islamic Movement in Israel and Hamas and not Abbas, who they claimed instructed his security forces to prevent attacks on Israelis.

[74] According to Algemeiner analysis published in January 2016,[39] While the threat of border clashes with Islamic State terrorists fighting in the Syrian civil war has concerned Israeli leaders for some time now, the recruitment of Israeli Arabs to form their own terror cells or launch lone wolf attacks inside of Israel – akin to the Paris or San Bernardino attacks late in 2015 – has recently become a more serious threat for the Jewish state.According to a cyber-security expert opinion of INSS, a new trend started during the "wave of terror" in Israel, with the Islamic State organization flooding social media platforms with messages tailored to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.

[76] In October 2015, it was reported that 20,000 Israelis had initiated a class action suit against Facebook who they claimed had a "legal and moral obligation" to block content "containing incitement to murder Jews.

"[77] On 15 October, the Jewish non-governmental organization ADL wrote in a blog post that content encouraging Palestinians to stab Jews had emerged on social media.

"[87] On 9 September, US State Department spokesman John Kirby, condemned "all acts of violence" at the Temple Mount and urged Israel not to lift restrictions for Jewish visitors or to disturb the "status quo" of the site.

The cabinet also ordered a minimum four-year jail term for anybody throwing dangerous objects and heavy fines on parents whose children threw stones as a temporary measure to be in effect for three years.

[citation needed] Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO, said that the new rules was "a mere pretext to justify the escalating Israeli crimes against the people of Palestine.

[118] On 20 October, Israeli troops rearrested Hassan Yousef, a senior Hamas figure in the West Bank, accusing him of "fermenting violence and conflict against Israel among the Palestinian public.

[122] On 24 October the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to cut financial aid to the Palestinian Authority by $80 million to "send a message" to Abbas to end the "incitement."

[125] According to Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog, who thought the events would lead to a Third Intifada, the Palestinian Authority tried to avoid an explosion "but on the ground, there's not much effect ... young people definitely aren't listening.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry again responded harshly, claiming that Wallström's "irresponsible and delirious statements are giving support to terrorism and encouraging violence".

[140][141] In January, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the Palestinian attacks were driven by a "profound sense of alienation and despair" and that "it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism."

He condemned the attacks but also said that Israel's settlement program, under which 153 new settler homes had recently been approved, cast doubt on its commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state.

"[64] Ban in response to Netanyahu's accusation wrote an op-ed published in The New York Times titled "Don't Shoot the Messenger, Israel.".

[144] While the Palestinians, and later also the Arab League,[145] welcomed the "French initiative," the Israeli government rejected it, with one official sardonically asking "Perhaps France will push for peace process with ISIS next?

"[61] The Ethics Committee of the Knesset suspended the three Arab Israeli MKs who had participated in the meeting; Hanin Zoabi, Basel Ghattas, and Jamal Zahalka.

[151] In response to the meeting between the Arab Israeli MKs and the Palestinian families, Netanyahu proposed new legislation allowing for three-quarters of the Knesset (90 of 120 members) to vote to expel an MK.

[152] On 17 February, nine American congressmen and Senator Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to the US State Department inquiring about "specific allegations of gross violations of human rights" by the security forces of Egypt and Israel.

[162] In response to the attack, the Israeli government suspended 83,000 Palestinian entry permits to visit families in Israel for Ramadan,[163] a move that was described as "collective punishment" by Knesset member Haneen Zoabi and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

1 Jewish attack was recorded: Two vehicles were set on fire and three were sprayed with anti-Arab hate speech in Nazareth and Yafa an-Naseriyye (in northern Israel).