美国总统奥巴马星期三在白宫接待中东地区的领导人，目的是在一年之内促成以色列和巴勒斯坦达成和平协议。
在以色列总理内塔尼亚胡和巴勒斯坦民族权力机构主席阿巴斯正式开始直接谈判的前一天，奥巴马将与双方分别举行双边会晤。
奥巴马还将会见约旦国王阿卜杜拉和埃及总统穆巴拉克。约旦和埃及是仅有的两个与以色列达成和平协议的阿拉伯国家。
就在会谈举行的前夕，伊斯兰哈马斯运动激进派的枪手星期二在约旦河西岸打死四名以色列定居者，其中包括一名孕妇。
事发后，巴勒斯坦安全部队逮捕了大约150名哈马斯活动分子进行问讯。巴勒斯坦民族权力机构主席阿巴斯和总理法耶兹都谴责了这起枪杀事件。
U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting Middle East leaders at the White House Wednesday in an effort to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement within a year.
Mr. Obama is to hold bilateral meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a day before they officially begin direct negotiations.
The U.S. president also will meet Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, leaders of the only two Arab nations to have concluded peace deals with Israel.
On the eve of the talks, gunmen from the militant wing of the Islamist Hamas movement killed four Israeli settlers in the West Bank Tuesday, including a pregnant woman.
Palestinian security forces detained about 150 Hamas activists for questioning following the incident.
Palestinian President Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad had both denounced the killings.