HEBRON, West Bank: Israeli and Palestinian leaders were preparing for widespread violence across the West Bank after the murder of four Jewish settlers, including a pregnant woman, by Hamas terrorists seeking to disrupt the peace talks in Washington.

Two women and two men travelling in a station wagon were ambushed as they drove south along Route 60, the West Bank axis highway that is shared by Jewish settlers and Palestinians.

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Israeli police believe the attackers either pulled alongside the Israelis' vehicle and opened fire, or contrived a trap that forced the car to pull over and then started shooting.

Israeli media quoted police and paramedics as saying the number of bullet wounds in each victim suggested they were all shot at point-blank range to make sure there were no survivors.