RAMALLAH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing Palestinian-Israeli tension in the West Bank has resulted from the absence of a political process for peace and the United States' weakening role as a mediator, observers have said.

Six Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of incidents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem beginning this month, including four in the past two days.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and two others were wounded, one of them seriously, in a Tarif shooting near the settlement of East Ramallah on Thursday -- the fourth shooting within the past two months in the West Bank.

Besides the shooting, the region has also seen an escalation in stabbings and assaults carried out by Palestinians.

Hani al-Masri, director general of Masarat, the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, attributed the current tension to certain Israeli practices, especially the expansion of settlements, and "insults" to the Palestinian Authority.

He listed field killings, arrests, house demolitions and "racist" laws among factors that are fueling tension or inviting retaliation in the region.

The expert predicts a further escalation of tension in the coming days, the severity of which depends on reactions from both sides.

"It is not easy to go to an open confrontation, especially as the Palestinian Authority continues to bet on political action, negotiations and popular resistance," he added.

Israel has accused the Islamic Hamas Movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, of masterminding the recent attacks on the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank.

A senior Israeli official said on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed messages on Thursday to Hamas via Egypt and other channels that Israel cannot have a cease-fire in Gaza should tensions in the West Bank continue.

The official said that Netanyahu also conveyed messages to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, demanding that the Palestinian security services avoid anti-Israel operations in the West Bank.

"The events in the West Bank reflect the deterioration of the relationship between the Palestinians and Israelis which is caused by Israel's continued disregard for the rights of the Palestinian people and the agreements signed between the two sides," Ghassan al-Khatib, a political science professor at Birzeit University in Ramallah, told Xinhua.

"I think ...this deterioration will continue, especially in the absence of a third-party role that used to intervene in previous circumstances when the relationship between the parties deteriorated," he added.

The professor warned that the United States' siding with Israel means it "can no longer play a role of a mediator between the two sides," giving rise to a "political vacuum."

The Palestinian Authority has boycotted the U.S. government since last December, when President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed holy city.

The Palestinians have also called for holding an international conference to resume the peace process based on a multiple sponsorship mechanism.

The last direct peace negotiations between the two sides halted in April 2014 after being sponsored by the United States for nine months. The talks led to no tangible results due to differences on major issues like settlement, security, borders and the recognition of the Palestinian State.

The Palestinians have also warned over the past few months they would suspend their recognition of Israel and halt security coordination with the Israeli government in response to the U.S. policy.

"What is happening now is an extension of a new stage that began three years ago, based on the Palestinian popular response to Israeli plans and Washington's approach and moving from a mediator to Israel's partner undermining the Palestinian rights," Khalil Shahin, a political observer from Ramallah, told Xinhua.

Shahin said that as long as the Israeli aggression continues, the Palestinians at the grassroots level will be forced to resist as they did in the previous uprisings. Enditem

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