哈马斯袭击为巴以和谈蒙上阴影

Israeli settlers hold a funeral in the occupied West Bank for two men and two women, one pregnant,who are shot dead on the highway. The killings occurred on the eve of direct talks in Washington between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Fatah leader Mahmoud AbbasFatah's rival Hamas, which rules the Gaza strip,claims responsibility for the killings, but says they have no relation to the talks.

"Al-Qassam's heroic operation in Hebron is a natural reaction to the occupation's crimes and is a continuation to the series of heroic operations to confront these crimes. But this operation does not have any relation to the negotiations between the Israeli occupation and Fatah and there is no connection as to the timing."　

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the killings could have been aimed at derailing the talks, and calls for all sides to exercise their strength. Days earlier an orthodox rabbi called for the death of Palestinians during his weekly sermon.

"May our enemies and haters end, Abu Mazen (Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas) and all these evil people should perish from this earth. God should strike them and these Palestinians，evil haters of Israel---with a plague."

But Jerusalem residents say that if anything the killing showed the need for peace.

"What happened enhances the need for peace talks and to trains, find some kind of way to solve this conflict."

The talks mark US President Barrack Obama's riskiest plunge into Middle East diplomacy. He is calling for a deal within 12 months, a seemingly impossible task after decades of conflict.

Andrew B. ,Reuters.