Mideast Leaders Meeting at White House Ahead of Peace Talks

U.S. President Barack Obama has begun a series of meetings ahead of the start of a new round of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House Wednesday for bilateral talks.

During a joint appearance, Mr. Obama condemned an attack that killed four Israeli settlers in the West Bank Tuesday.  
Mr. Obama said what he called the "senseless slaughter" that took place near Hebron was not going to stop negotiators from securing a long-lasting Mideast peace.

The Israeli prime minister also condemned the attack and said his "open, productive and serious" talks with Mr. Obama were centered around a need to have security arrangements that could help Israel prevent such attacks.

Mr. Obama meets later Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas -- one day before the start of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Later Wednesday, President Obama also holds talks with Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, leaders of the only two Arab nations to have concluded peace deals with Israel.

The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are aimed at reaching a peace agreement within a year.

The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack.  Palestinian security forces responded by arresting more then 200 people with suspected Hamas links during overnight raids.

Separately, an Israeli settlers group said it would resume settlement construction in the West Bank in protest of the attack.  A temporary freeze on settlement building is due to expire September 26.

The settlers group, the Yesha Council, had already been pressuring the Israeli government not to extend the moratorium.  But Palestinians want Israel to freeze construction on land they view as part of a future state.

Israeli settlement activity is expected to be a major issue in peace negotiations.