Pat Dollard | Young Americans

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Tens of thousands of people in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip rallied Tuesday against the Mideast peace conference under way in the U.S., while the group’s top leader in Gaza insisted the summit is “doomed to failure.”

The comments by Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, came as protesters began filling a huge square in Gaza City, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” and calling Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a “collaborator” for attending the gathering at Annapolis, Md.

Palestinian police loyal to Abbas violently dispersed a demonstration in the West Bank against the peace conference, killing one protester, medical officials said.

The Liberation Party, a tiny Islamic group, said Hisham Baradiyeh, a 36-year-old member of the group, was shot in the chest. The group calls for the establishment of a pan-Muslim state through peaceful means.

The government of Abbas, who is in Annapolis, banned protests against the conference. Enforcing the ban, police broke up small protests throughout his West Bank stronghold. There were no other fatalities reported, although several people were seriously injured.

Palestinian government officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

In other violence, Israeli troops fatally shot two Hamas militants in separate incidents early Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, the army and Islamic group said. On Monday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in Gaza.

“Annapolis is a disaster for us,” said Amina Hasanat, a 37-year-old mother of eight who demonstrated in Gaza City. Dressed in a black robe and black and green headband, she predicted the conference would end in failure. “This will be an advantage for the resistance,” she said.

Gaza’s Hamas rulers have been staging daily demonstrations against the U.S.-hosted conference, restating their commitment to Israel’s destruction and promising to reject any decisions that come out of Annapolis. The criticism has grown increasingly vitriolic, with one Hamas leader on Monday calling Abbas a “traitor.”

Polls show that a majority of both Palestinians and Israelis favor a negotiated settlement to the conflict. However, a majority on each side is also skeptical that the current peace push will bear fruit.

Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in June after routing forces loyal to Abbas, and his lack of control of Gaza has raised questions about his ability to carry out a future peace deal. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he will not implement a peace agreement without a halt to militant attacks emanating from Gaza.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Olmert noted that the U.S.-backed “road map” peace plan calls on the Palestinians to disarm militants. “We will not be able to accept the fact that they (the Palestinians) will be relieved of the obligation to prevent terrorism from the Gaza Strip,” he said.

In his speech, Haniyeh said his group would not disarm.

“We will stand firmly in the face of policies that attack the will of our people, our factions and our weapons of resistance,” Haniyeh said. “We reaffirm the legitimacy of resistance and support it as a natural right.”

Haniyeh also expressed dismay over the participation of 16 Arab nations—including Saudi Arabia and Syria, a key Hamas patron, at the U.S. summit.

He said the Arab masses “will reject … any concessions to the Zionist enemy.”

“We are sure that the Annapolis conference will not change the reality of history and geography,” he added. “Any conference that goes beyond this reality is doomed to failure.”

After Haniyeh’s speech, the Gaza protest gained strength, beginning with several thousand pro-Hamas university students and quickly growing into tens of thousands of people. Smaller militant groups, including Islamic Jihad, also took part.

“Today you are here to send a message to those who say the land of Palestine is not for sale,” said Mahmoud Zahar, a fiery Hamas leader. “Whoever thinks we will recognize a Jewish state … are deluding themselves. There will be no recognition of the state of Israel.”

Despite the harsh language, the gathering was more subdued than past Hamas rallies. Many demonstrators milled about and appeared uninterested during the speeches.

Children played or enjoyed ice cream, and women chatted with each other. Unlike other Hamas rallies, there were no public displays of weapons, although protest organizers tried to energize the crowd by playing recordings of gunfire.

In Ramallah, around 1,000 supporters waving their movement’s black flag tried to march from a large mosque in the town’s center, but were immediately surrounded by police, who began rapidly firing live ammunition over their heads to disperse the crowd.

Many ran back into the mosque and were surrounded. Associated Press reporters saw police beating protesters with sticks in an attempt to disperse the protests. An ambulance rushed to the scene, siren wailing, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

In Hebron, police and hundreds of protesters threw stones at each other, even as security men fired into the air. Around 50 protesters was arrested, and eight were slightly injured, officials said.

There were similar scenes of chaos in the northern West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin. Police tried to prevent reporters from covering the protests, and seized the camera of one AP photographer.

On Sunday, Abbas’ foreign minister, Riad Malki, said the government would not tolerate any demonstrations against the conference, to preserve “stability and security.”

On the Israeli side, Olmert will return home to face opposition to his peace moves.

In Jerusalem, more than 20,000 Israelis gathered Monday at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, to protest the Annapolis conference. Many marched to a square near Olmert’s residence for a noisy demonstration.

Hard-line Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the conference on Monday. “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.”