As frequently is the case dealing with the Palestinians, every time there is talk of peace they themselves sabotage all hopes.
The UK Telepraph reports that the military wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility for the killing of four Jewish settlers who were shot dead in their car on the eve of direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The shooting was the deadliest attack by militants in the West Bank for more than a year and was seen as an attempt to derail negotiations in Washington, where President Barack Obama was preparing to host a dinner for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, before the two leaders meet face-to-face on Wednesday.
Ehud Barak, Israels' defence minister, promised that Israel would "exact a price" from those who had carried out the shootings. "This is an apparent attempt by lowly terrorists to sabotage the attempt to achieve a diplomatic process."
A spokesman for Mr Netanyahu said the attack proved there must be “no compromise” on Israeli security demands, a spokesman said.
“This criminal murder proves again the need to stand firmly on Israel’s stringent security demands, and there will be no compromise on them,” he said, adding that Mr Netanyahu “ordered security forces to act without political limits to catch the murderers and react aggressively.”
The White House also condemned the killing “in the strongest possible terms”.
Full story
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