President Barack Obama denounced the West Bank ambush as he launched a two-day summit marking the first Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in nearly two years.

"The message should go out to Hamas and everyone else who is taking credit for these heinous crimes that this is not going to stop us," he said after greeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Hamas has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's shootings, a vivid reminder that the Iranian-backed group may be locked out of the peace negotiations but remains a key player in determining their outcome.

Late Wednesday, gunmen wounded two Israelis in a drive-by shooting in the northern West Bank, the military said. Assailants in a car overtook an Israeli vehicle and opened fire, seriously wounding an Israeli man. The vehicle crashed, injuring a woman.

AP