Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied in the Gaza Strip and West Bank to protest against the start of a U.S.-sponsored Middle East conference Tuesday, while Hamas's top leader in Gaza insisted the summit is "doomed to failure."

Palestinian supporters of Hamas burn a likeness of the Israeli flag Tuesday during a demonstration against an ongoing U.S.-hosted peace summit. Tens of thousands of people in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip rallied against the Mideast peace conference.
(Khalil Hamra/Associated Press)

Ismail Haniyeh, the former Palestinian prime minister and leader of the Hamas government in Gaza, said he was disappointed that 16 Arab nations were participating in the summit in Annapolis, Md., and repeated Hamas's refusal to recognize Israel.

He vowed that the Arab masses will reject any concessions made to the "Zionist enemy."

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

His comments came as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged in a joint statement Tuesday in Annapolis to work toward securing a peace agreement before the end of 2008 based on the principles of the U.S.-shaped "road map."

Hamas, which gained control of Gaza by force in June and has been isolated by the international community since winning a majority in Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, was not invited to the conference.

Protesters in Gaza City filled a huge square on Tuesday, chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," and calling Abbas a "collaborator" for attending the summit.

Smaller rallies were held in the West Bank, which is still under the control of Abbas and his Fatah movement.

At least one protester killed

Some of the West Bank rallies turned violent, with police beating people with sticks and firing tear gas to disperse the crowds. Palestinian medical officials said one protester was killed by Palestinian police in the West Bank town of Hebron, while other protesters were seriously injured.

"Annapolis is a disaster for us," protester Amina Hasanat said in Gaza City, noting that if the summit fails, it will benefit Hamas and the "resistance" movement.

Another protester, Mahmoud Zahar of the Hamas movement, said the protests should send a strong message.

"Whoever thinks we will recognize a Jewish state are deluding themselves. There will be no recognition of Israel," he said.

In other violence, Israeli troops fatally shot two Hamas militants in separate incidents early Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, the army and Hamas said.

Hamas officials have also threatened to thwart the summit's aims through increasing the frequency and power of the almost daily rocket attacks launched against Israel from Gaza.

With files from the Associated Press