RAMALLAH, West Bank — A relative calm has returned to the West Bank after a brief outbreak of violence between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of cities and contact points after US President Trump announced his so-called deal of the century for Israeli-Palestinian peace on Jan. 28.

Confrontations on the West Bank in early February went beyond Palestinians throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces to include deadly clashes involving gunfire, a car-ramming attack and resisting the demolition of a home. In Gaza, Palestinians launched more than 20 rockets and hundreds of incendiary balloons toward Israeli communities. In response, the Israeli army decided on Feb. 6 to send reinforcements to the border with Gaza and to the West Bank.

In a speech at the UN Security Council on Feb. 11, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said, “We will not resort to violence and terrorism, no matter the aggression against us. We believe in peace and fighting violence. We are ready to cooperate with any country to combat terrorism, and we will fight with peaceful popular resistance.”

Another reason for the relative stability is that the security services of the Palestinian Authority (PA) do not want an escalation with Israel. On Feb. 16, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told Israel’s Channel 12, “I want the Israeli people to understand that we are fighting and putting an end to terrorism.” Abu Rudeina also told Israeli journalists that security relations between the PA and Israel are ongoing, but the calm won't last indefinitely.