Analysis: The end of the period of calm is fast approaching

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The unrelenting violence that erupted on Thursday evening seems to indicate the end of almost six months of relative calm in the territories.

The recent violence is reminiscient of events at the height of the intifada conflict - an Israeli woman is killed in Nativ Ha'asara, more than 20 Qassam rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel and at least six Hamas men are killed by the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank and Gaza.

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It seems that this week the threshold has been crossed, and the militant group that tipped the balance was the Hamas more than the Islamic Jihad, which has already in the past shaken off any responsibility toward the cease fire agreement and launched the suicide bombing in Netanya last week.

At this stage it still remains difficult to assess whether Hamas' decision to fire Qassam rockets into pre-1967 Israeli territory was a calculated one. But what was initially intended to be an act of provocation of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on his monthly visit to the Gaza Strip turned out to have much greater fallout. The killing of a young woman in Nativ Ha'asara forced Israel's harsh retaliation, and although it is uncertain whether this move was worthwhile for Hamas, it is clear that for the PA it spelled out a real catastrophe.

Haaretz