Nagađa se da su generalni pokretači nemira bili usredotočeni na neuspjeh samita u Camp Davidu 2000., za koji se očekivalo da će se postići konačni dogovor o izraelsko-palestinskom mirovnom procesu u julu 2000.[4] Porast nasilnih incidenata počeo je u septembru 2000, nakon što je izraelski političar Ariel Sharon napravio provokativnu posjetu Brdu hrama;[5][4] sama posjeta je bila mirna, ali je, kako se i očekivalo, izazvala proteste i nerede koje je izraelska policija ugušila gumenim mecima, bojevom municijom i suzavcem.[6] U prvih nekoliko dana ustanka, Izraelske odbrambene snage su ispalie milion komada municije.[7]
Tokom prvih nekoliko sedmica ustanka, omjer ubijenih Palestinaca i Izraelaca bio je oko 20 prema 1.[8] Izraelske sigurnosne snage su vršili pucnjave, ciljana ubistva, tenkovske napade i zračne napade; Palestinci su učestvovali u pucnjavi, bacanju kamena i raketnim napadima.[9][10] Otprilike 138 samoubilačkih bombaških napada koje su izvele palestinske militantne frakcije nakon marta 2001. postalo je jedno od istaknutih obilježja Intifade i uglavnom su ciljali izraelske civile.[11][12][13][14][15] Uz ukupnu cifru žrtava za borce i civile, procjenjuje se da je nasilje rezultiralo smrću oko 3.000 Palestinaca i 1.000 Izraelaca, kao i 64 strana državljana.[16]
Druga intifada je završena samitom u Šarm el Šeiku 2005,[17] pošto su se palestinski predsednik Mahmoud Abbas i izraelski premijer Ariel Sharon složili da preduzmu definitivne korake za deeskalaciju neprijateljstava.[18][19] Oni su također ponovo potvrdili svoju posvećenost "mapi puta za mir" koju je predložio Kvartet za Bliskom istoku 2003. Uz to, Sharon je pristao na oslobađanje 900 palestinskih zatvorenika[20] i dalje izjavio da će se izraelske trupe povući iz dijelova Zapadne obale koju su ponovo okupirali boreći se protiv palestinskih militanata tokom ustanka.
^Cohen, Samy (2010). "Botched Engagement in the Intifada". Israel's Asymmetric Wars. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. str. 73–91. doi:10.1057/9780230112971_6. ISBN978-1-349-28896-0."The al-Aqsa Intifada ushered in an era with a new brand of violence. It began with a popular uprising following Ariel Sharon's visit to Temple Mount on September 28, 2000. But unlike the first Intifada, which was basically a civil uprising against the symbols of an occupation that has lasted since June 1967, the second Intifada very quickly lapsed into an armed struggle between Palestinian activists and the Israeli armed forces. Almost from the very start, armed men took to hiding among crowds of Palestinians, using them as cover to shoot from. The IDF retaliated forcefully, each time causing several casualties."
^Kober, Avi (2007). "Targeted Killing during the Second Intifada:: The Quest for Effectiveness". Journal of Conflict Studies (jezik: engleski). 27 (1): 94–114. ISSN1198-8614. Arhivirano s originala, 5 April 2022. Pristupljeno 5 April 2022. Based on the assumption that there was no longer one front or one line of contact, Israel was carrying out dozens of simultaneous operations on the ground and in the air on a daily basis, including TKs, which were supposed to have multi-dimensional effects. According to Byman, TKs were mostly attractive to Israelis as they satisfied domestic demands for a forceful response to Palestinian terrorism. Byman also believes that by bolstering public morale, the TKs helped counter one of the terrorists' primary objectives – to reduce the faith of Israelis in their own government.
^Matta, Nada; Rojas, René (2016). "The Second Intifada: A Dual Strategy Arena". European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie (jezik: engleski). 57 (1): 66. doi:10.1017/S0003975616000035. ISSN0003-9756. S2CID146939293. Arhivirano s originala, 5 April 2022. Pristupljeno 5 April 2022. Suicide terror, lethal attacks indiscriminately carried out against civilians via self-immolation, attained prominence in the Palestinian repertoire beginning in March 2001. From that point until the end of 2005, at which point they virtually ceased, 57 suicide bombings were carried out, causing 491 civilian deaths, 73% of the total civilians killed by Palestinian resistance organizations and 50% of all Israeli fatalities during this period. While not the modal coercive tactic, suicide terror was the most efficient in terms of lethality, our basic measure of its efficacy.
^Schweitzer, Y. (2010). "The rise and fall of suicide bombings in the second Intifada". Strategic Assessment. 13 (3): 39–48. As part of the violence perpetrated by the Palestinians during the second intifada, suicide bombings played a particularly prominent role and served as the primary effective weapon in the hands of the planners.
^Schachter, J. (2010). "The End of the Second Intifada?"(PDF). Strategic Assessment. 13 (3): 63–70. Arhivirano s originala(PDF), 30 September 2021. This article attempts to identify the end of the second intifada by focusing on the incidence of suicide bombings, arguably the most important element of second intifada-related violence.
^Sela-Shayovitz, R. (2007). "Suicide bombers in Israel: Their motivations, characteristics, and prior activity in terrorist organizations". International Journal of Conflict and Violence. 1 (2): 163. The period of the second Intifada significantly differs from other historical periods in Israeli history, because it has been characterized by intensive and numerous suicide attacks that have made civilian life into a battlefront.
^Tucker 2019, str. 958p: he [Abbas] and Israeli prime minister Sharon agreed in an early 2005 summit to suspend hostilities. This agreement effectively ended the Second Intifada