A West Bank Fatah leader and head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society in Ramallah, Qadura Fares, believes that the four recent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the West Bank are not some indication that a new intifada is erupting. They are, however, a disconcerting sign of a growing sense of desperation.
Within a single month, Sgt. Tomer Hazan was killed in Samaria (Sept. 21), Sgt. Gal (Gavriel) Kobi died the following day from sniper fire in an incident that occurred near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a 9-year-old girl was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist who infiltrated the settlement of Psagot (Oct. 5) and Col. Sariyah Ofer was bludgeoned to death in the Jordan Valley by two Palestinians wielding axes (Oct. 10).