Speculation about a "Third Intifada" has proliferated in recent days. On Sunday, Israel's mass-selling daily Yediot Ahronoth even used the phrase as its front-page headline.
For now, it seems that the Third Intifada label remains an exaggeration. Four Israelis and five Palestinians killed in one week may seem like a sharp escalation in violence. The statistics show, however, that there have been other such spikes over the past two years, and the level of violence is steadily rising over time.
LISTEN: What is an Intifada? Our Foreign Editor takes a look at the current situation in Israel
Israeli security officials said that there were around 20 flashpoints in the West Bank and around Jerusalem where confrontations have been taking place over the past few weeks.
Most of the locations have long been focuses of violence; the difference today is the frequency of the clashes and the numbers of those involved. That said, the violence mainly consists of teenagers throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
But even if a Third Intifada has not yet erupted, events are moving Israel and the Palestinians in that direction.
Palestinian frustration with the occupation combined with a diminishing hope that the situation will change any time soon remain ongoing causes of violence on their side.
For the same reasons, the Palestinian security apparatus is losing the motivation to curb rioting.
Despite the efforts of the Israeli police and the Shin Bet, attempts by Jewish extremists to carry out vigilante attacks against Palestinian civilians are also on the rise, which will lead to further cycles of terror. Meanwhile, the leaders of both sides seem incapable of engaging in anything more than mutual recriminations while coming under increasing pressure at home.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being criticised both by the official opposition for having failed to deliver security and also by members of his own government for "restraining" the security forces. This week, three Likud ministers joined settlement council heads protesting outside the prime minister's residence. For now, Mr Netanyahu is resisting calls to launch a wider operation in the West Bank or expand settlements in retribution for the murder of Israeli citizens.
Mr Abbas, likewise, seems reluctant to push matters too far. Last week at the UN he threatened to end security coordination with Israel. For now, his security chiefs want to remain in control, protecting their vested interests and continuing the security co-ordination.
But the lack of any prospect for a renewal of the diplomatic process and the preoccupation of foreign governments with events in Syria and Afghanistan mean that any period of relative calm could be fleeting.
Mr Abbas will continue to face criticism of "collabo
In such a febrile atmosphere, a more widespread wave of bloodshed could break out following any sort of event - a provocation by either side on Temple Mount; a traffic accident of the sort which sparked off the First Intifada in 1987; even a riot at a football match between Beitar Jerusalem and an Israeli-Arab team.
Events on the ground could happen very fast and spiral out of control. That is the real threat - whatever anyone chooses to call it.
