Learn Farsi: مردم قیام می‌کنند و به کاخ حمله می‌کنند.

This is a classic example of the Historical Present. In Farsi narrative writing, historical events are frequently written in the Present Indicative (like می‌کنند) instead of the Simple Past (like کردند). This makes the narration feel more vivid and immediate, pulling the reader directly into the action as if it is unfolding right now.

Why is there a به before کاخ? Shouldn't the palace just be a direct object like it is in English?

Unlike the English verb "to attack," the Farsi compound verb حمله کردن (to attack) requires the preposition به (to/at) to introduce its target. You cannot use the direct object marker را here. Literally, the sentence says they "make an attack to the palace."

Both verbs end in می‌کنند. Could we make it less repetitive by dropping the first one and saying مردم قیام و به کاخ حمله می‌کنند?

No, you need to keep both. قیام کردن and حمله کردن are two distinct compound verbs. While older or highly poetic Farsi texts might occasionally share a single light verb at the very end of a list, standard modern Farsi requires you to fully conjugate both compound verbs when they are connected by و.

Since مردم (people) is a collective noun, could we use the singular verb می‌کند instead?

While Farsi allows some plural subjects (usually inanimate objects or animals) to take singular verbs, مردم refers to a group of human beings and is treated as a plural subject. It almost always takes the plural third-person verb ending .