The circumstances of the death of the Awadallah brothers do not fit either of the two versions that have been circulated in the past 24 hours: the conspiracy theory on the one hand, and the coincidence theory on the other.

In other words, there was no prior agreement between the Israeli GSS and Jibril Rajoub's Preventive Security Apparatus to intentionally permit Imad Awadallah to escape from a Palestinian prison, so that he would lead to his brother and enable Israel to capture both of them in one action.

Imad's escape was genuine -- not because of Jibril Rajoub but because of the weather. Hamas officials turned to the PA and complained about the severe heat in Imad's cell. The PA eased the conditions of detention and Imad exploited this fact in order to escape.

The pursuits were also real, both Rajoub's pursuit of Imad and Israel's hunt for Adel, the leader of the Izz a-Din al- Qassam squads in the West Bank, who was responsible for the death of many Israelis.

The elimination of the brothers and Hamas' calls for revenge again raise the question of whether the killing of senior terrorists may in fact contribute to increasing the circle of violence and boosting Hamas' motivation to carry out attacks. The clear answer is that Hamas does not need any incentive to perpetrate terrible attacks in Israel. The fact that no such incidents have occurred recently is a combination of success in preventing attacks and a little luck, not a lack of motivation.

At the same time, it is clear that Hamas will now redouble its efforts in order to show that it was not mortally wounded by the killing of Imad and Adel Awadallah, and that it is capable of fighting back. In the ongoing war with Hamas, it must also be understood that the killing of the two men will not stop terrorism, and that their place will be taken by others. The cautionary measures taken by the security establishment and the public's alertness are appropriate.