Palestinians seize 150 Hamas members after Israeli deaths

Palestinian security forces have arrested more than 150 Hamas members in an overnight sweep of the West Bank after the Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for shooting dead four Israelis on the eve of new Middle East peace talks.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas

With the move, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas appeared to be trying to send a stern message to both Hamas rivals and to Israel that his government is committed to the new peace talks.

The shooting immediately cast a shadow over President Barack Obama's push for peace, which formally began yesterday with a White House dinner. It will be the first direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in nearly two years.

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It also was a vivid reminder that while Hamas is locked out of the peace efforts, it remains a key player in determining the outcome of negotiations.

The Iranian-backed group rules the Gaza Strip, one half of the territory claimed by the Palestinians for a future state, and has the power to sabotage negotiations at any moment.

A Palestinian security official confirmed a crackdown was under way, He said the shooting assailants had not been found.

Hamas MP Omar Abdel-Raziq said more than 150 members had been detained, and others had been summoned to police stations for questioning. He accused Mr Abbas of trying to please the Israelis.

"These are political arrests," he said. "They are trying to tell the Israelis that they are capable of doing the job after the attack."

President Obama vowed the Hamas attack "is not going to stop us" in the quest for Middle East peace as he opened the summit.

He condemned as "senseless slaughter" the ambush that killed four Israeli settlers on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank.The attack occurred near Hebron, when a gunman opened fire on a passing vehicle, killing all four passengers inside - two men and two women from settlements in the area.

The dead included a married couple with five children.

"The message should go out to Hamas and everybody else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us from not only ensuring a secure Israel but also securing a longer-lasting peace in which people throughout the region can take a different course," Mr Obama said.

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He was speaking after meeting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he launched a series of one-on-one sessions with Middle East leaders attending the US-led peace summit that will culminate today with the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in 20 months.

The summit marks Mr Obama's riskiest plunge into Middle East diplomacy, not least because he wants the two sides to forge a deal within 12 months for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

Yet the two sides seem far apart on all the core issues including refugees, water, settlements, borders and Jerusalem.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr Obama, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would a seek a peace accord "centred around the need to have security arrangements that are able to roll back this kind of terror and other threats to Israel's security."

West Bank settlers said yesterday they will break a government freeze on construction in their communities in protest over the attack.

In addition to his sessions with president Abbas and Netanyahu, Mr Obama also was meeting separately yesterday with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab nations with peace deals with Israel.