GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Leaders of the Islamic militant group Hamas called the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a traitor yesterday and vowed to reject any decisions made at the Mideast peace conference convening today in the United States.
In Jerusalem, meanwhile, more than 20,000 Israelis gathered at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, to protest the conference.
Many marched to a square near the residence of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a noisy demonstration.
Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu also denounced the meeting. "The Palestinians are not lifting a finger to stop terror or recognize Israel as a Jewish state," he told Channel 2 TV. "I see this summit as a continuation of one-sided concessions."
Coming as the Israeli military killed four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in an air strike and a ground clash, the angry comments on both sides showed that both Olmert and Abbas face stiff opposition at home in trying to achieve a peace agreement.
Hamas has been staging daily demonstrations in Gaza against the conference and Abbas, restating the group's rejection of the existence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East.
"The land of Palestine . . . is purely owned by the Palestinians," Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said in a speech, referring to the territory that includes Israel. "No person, group, government or generation has the right to give up one inch of it."
Speaking at a meeting of 2,000 activists from local militant groups, Zahar declared, "Anyone who stands in the face of resistance or fights it or cooperates with the occupation against it is a traitor" - a clear reference to Abbas and his dealings with Israel.
Hamas militiamen seized control of Gaza in June, leaving Abbas in charge of a government based in the West Bank. His lack of control over Gaza has raised questions about his ability to carry through on any peace deal.
Ismail Haniyeh, head of Gaza's Hamas government, joined fellow Hamas leaders yesterday in signing a document saying Abbas has no right to make concessions in the name of Palestinians.
"Any recommendations or commitments made in the conference that harm our rights will not be binding for our people," Haniyeh said. "It will be binding only for those who sign it."
Israel has stepped up pressure on Hamas since the Gaza takeover, carrying out air strikes and ground operations trying to halt Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel.
Yesterday, an Israeli aircraft fired at a Palestinian squad firing mortar shells into Israel, the military said. Hamas and hospital officials reported two dead and one wounded from the strike.
The Israeli military said soldiers also shot and killed two Palestinians who approached Israel's border with Gaza.
Countering the attacks on the US-sponsored peace talks, Muslim, Christian and Samaritan leaders gathered in the West Bank city of Nablus to offer support for the conference in Annapolis, Md., and call for a peace deal fulfilling Palestinian demands.
