RAMALLAH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian observers believe that the tension in the West Bank is a natural result of the absence of peace horizons between the Palestinians and Israelis and the decline of the U.S. mediation role between the two sides.
After the tension in the West Bank lasting for several days, the observers expect further escalation because of the continuing circle of blocking the horizon of peace on the one hand, and the practices of Israel and the current U.S. administration on the other hand.
Six Palestinians have been killed and dozens of others wounded in a series of separate incidents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of December.
On the other hand, two Israeli soldiers were killed and two others were wounded, one of whom seriously, in a shooting attack on Tarif near the settlement of East Ramallah on Thursday.
It is the fourth shooting attack during the past two months in the West Bank, which has also seen an escalation in stabbings and assaults carried out by Palestinians.
"The tension is a natural result of the absence of a political process between the Palestinian and Israeli sides," said Hani al-Masri, director of the Ramallah-based Masarat Center for Research and Studies.
He pointed out that killings, arrests, house demolitions and "racist" laws are factors that increased tension in the Palestinian street and are naturally answered by stabbings, run-over attacks or even shootings.
The expert believes that the coming days may witness further escalation, adding that "the size of tension depends on many factors such as the desire of the Palestinian Authority to escalate, which is unlikely to happen, and a possible further escalation by Israel, which may blow up the situation on the ground."
Israel has accused Islamic Hamas Movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, of being behind the recent attacks on the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank.
A senior Israeli official said on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed messages on Thursday to Hamas via Egypt and other channels of communication that Israel cannot have a cease-fire in Gaza if tension in the West Bank continues.
The Israeli official, according to Israeli media, said that Netanyahu also conveyed messages to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in which he demanded that the Palestinian security services work against anti-Israel operations in the West Bank or any expected escalation.
"The events in the West Bank reflect the deterioration of the relationship between the Palestinians and Israelis, which is caused by Israel's continued disregard for the rights of the Palestinian people and the agreements signed between the two sides," Ghassan al-Khatib, a political science professor at Birzeit University in Ramallah, told Xinhua.
"I think there is no respect for the minimum level of relations between the two sides, this deterioration will continue, especially in the absence of a third party that used to intervene in previous circumstances when the relationship between the parties worsened," he added.
The professor warned that the third party, represented by the United States, has chose to be on the side of Israel, "therefore Washington can no longer play a role of a mediator, which increases the reality of the current political vacuum."
The Palestinian Authority has boycotted the U.S. government since last December when the U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed holy city.
The Palestinians have also called for holding an international conference to revive the peace process based on multiple sponsorship mechanism.
The last direct peace negotiations between the two sides stopped in April 2014 after they were sponsored by the U.S. for nine months.
The talks led to no tangible results due to differences on major issues like settlement, security, borders and the recognition of a Palestinian state.
The Palestinians have also warned over the past few months of suspending their recognition of Israel and halt security coordination with the Israeli government in response to the U.S. policy.
According to Khalil Shahin, a political observer from Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority does not show the full seriousness so far in implementing its threats to reshape its relationship with Israel.
"The Palestinians will do so only if the situation on the ground is seriously deteriorating," he said to Xinhua.
What is happening now is an extension of a new stage that began three years ago, based on the Palestinian popular response to Israeli plans and Washington's approach and its shift in role from a mediator to Israel's partner undermining the Palestinian rights, he added.
Shahin stressed that as long as the Israeli aggression continues, the Palestinians at the popular level will be forced to resist as they did in the previous uprisings.
