Colonists are roadblock to West Bank peace

Ma'aleh Adumim, West Bank: This sprawling, well-manicured Israeli colony - with its rows of red-tile roofs, palm trees, and air-conditioned shopping mall - could almost pass for Orange County, California. Except the guards in this gated community sometimes pack automatic weapons.

Colonies such as the city-sized Ma'aleh Adumim, about 6.4 kilometres east of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank, are viewed by much of the world as illegal because they are built on land seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War. Many Israelis see Ma'aleh Adumim as part of their country.

Now the long-simmering dispute over this and other fast-growing colonies has become a major obstacle to restarting Middle East peace talks. Palestinians have refused to return to the negotiating table unless colony growth is frozen, including "natural growth" of existing colonies as families grow and children marry.

Israelis have refused, despite pressure from the Obama administration, saying a complete freeze would unfairly disrupt the "normal life" of colonists. The issue has sparked the most public rift between the US and Israel in years.

"Why is President Obama interfering with our lives, telling us how many children we can have and whether we can get married?" asked Benny Kashriel, longtime mayor of Ma'aleh Adumim.

Many of Israel's approximately 220 colonies and outposts have a reputation for being populated by political ideologues and religious zealots who moved to the West Bank to stake an Israeli land claim.

But much of the recent colony growth is occurring in a handful of large communities, including Ma'aleh Adumim, which is home to 37,000 people and has become a de-facto Jerusalem suburb. Colonists here are more likely to be secular families in search of affordable housing. Apartments in Ma'aleh Adumim cost one-third of those in occupied Jerusalem.