The Associated Press on Tuesday reported on what the outlet described as “the latest in a string of Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets in recent days,” after a Palestinian sniper that morning shot and killed an Israeli Bedouin defense contractor who was working on the border fence separating Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

On Monday a Palestinian terrorist stabbed an Israeli policeman in the West Bank. On Sunday another Palestinian terrorist left a pipe bomb on an Israeli bus near Tel Aviv. Last month another Palestinian terrorist stabbed to death an Israeli soldier who was sleeping on a bus.

The wave of violence has been linked to among other things the reemergence of regular incitement by top Palestinian officials in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Speaking after Tuesday’s shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:

Israel would not tolerate a “drizzle” of attacks from Gaza, which would “turn into a storm,” he said.

Since Pillar of Defense, the south has been quieter than it had been for more than a decade, the prime minister said. “I am committed to maintaining that quiet, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is our policy.”

Netanyahu said that there had recently been a “certain increase” in attempts to commit terrorist attacks.

The Israeli military deployed assets from its air force, Armored Corps, and infantry to strike six Gaza Strip targets, among them training sites, weapons manufacturing facilities, and a concealed rocket launcher.

The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday that, despite the recent spike in terror attacks, Israel is still expected to release a group of convicted Palestinian terrorists – the third of four such groups – in an effort to boost U.S.-backed peace talks.

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