Four Israeli settlers, including a pregnant woman, were killed Tuesday evening in the West Bank when their car was fired upon. The incident, the deadliest action against Israelis in more than two years, happened while Benjamin Netanyahu was en route to the peace talks in Washington. On its website, Hamas claimed responsibility, calling it a “heroic operation.” Gee, it’s almost as though Hamas isn’t even interested in a lasting peace. But its attempt may backfire. In his statement, Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, said, “This was most likely an attempt by base terrorists to harm the effort to launch a political process and to harm the chances of the talks in Washington.” Of course, Barak also said Israel “will exact a price from the murderers and those who sent them.” In Washington, a spokesperson for Mahmoud Abbas said the attacks “underlined ‘the need to proceed quickly toward a just and lasting peace agreement.’”
