Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank - home to about 300,000Israelis - are a crucial issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict andone that threatens to derail prospects for peace. U.S. PresidentBarack Obama, in his speech to the Muslim world this month, called fora freeze on all settlement activity. Washington has said in nouncertain terms that Israel's expansion of existing settlements muststop. Israeli compliance with the U.S. demand will not come easily.
Yitzhar, a hilltop community near the West Bank city of Nablus, is home to about 500 Jewish residents.
Oneof them is Benjamin Allen, a Jew originally from the United States whocame here nearly ten years ago. He earns his living as a constructionworker and also by working part-time at a grocery store in thesettlement. He and his family have established roots here, and he saysleaving is not an option.
"It would destroy me. And I think that if we, God forbid, have to leave here, it's the end."
Yitzhar sits on land captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day war.
Lowproperty prices and tax incentives are some of the reasons Israeli Jewshave come to live at remote, fenced-in communities like Yitzhar.
But it is ideology tied to roots in the ancient past that has driven many - including Allen - to settle here.
"Wedid not come back here as Israelis, we came back as Jews," said Allen. "This part of the land where I live, where we live, is where Abrahamwalked, and Isaac walked, and Jacob walked. This is Jewish land as faras I'm concerned."
In his speech this month, President Obamasaid the U.S. supports a two-state solution with the West Bank and GazaStrip forming the Palestinian state, living peaceably alongside Israel.
But for Palestinians, settlements like Yitzhar encroach onland that has been theirs for centuries, and are an obstacle to thecreation of an independent state.
In the nearby Arab village ofAsira al-Qabaliya, Hiyam Suleiman and her family earn a living fromgrowing saffron and other herbs. She says villagers have lost access to their fields. She says there will be no peace as long as the settlers are here.
Shesays her family's land is beyond the hill, on the other side of thesettlement. She says her relatives cannot reach it because the settlerswill not let them go over there.
Last September, Asiraal-Qabaliya was the scene of violence when scores of residents from theYitzhar settlement stormed the village and attacked Palestinianresidents.
Residents recorded the violence. The tape was thenmade public by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. It showsJewish settlers moving in on Palestinian homes and hurling rocks.
Gunfire broke out. Witnesses say some of the Jews were armed. Footage shows Israeli soldiers standing by, watching.
Yitzhar,like most settlements is closely guarded due to past attacks fromPalestinians who are angry over the settlers' presence.
Witnessessay the attack in September on Asira al-Qabaliya was retaliation afteran Arab intruder entered Yitzhar, set a house on fire, and stabbed aJewish child.
In the subsequent violence, at least four Palestinians were shot.
Hiyam Suleiman witnessed the attacks. She wants the settlers to leave.
Shesays this is no life for her and her family. She says she and herfamily want to be free. An Arab - she says - should be free in his ownhouse. She says if a person is attacked, of course he will strike backbecause his dignity has been lost.
Hiyam's husband, NabilAssaideh, says he hopes Palestinian leaders and the United Statesincrease pressure on Israel to remove all Jewish settlements from theWest Bank.
He says there will never be peace as long as thesettlements are here. He says Israel has to remove all thesettlements. Once that happens, he believes everyone will coexist. Hesays this land is the home of three religions: Islam, Christianity,and Judaism and he says no one should be attacking one another.
BenjaminAllen believes the existence of this and other West Bank settlements iscrucial for the survival of the State of Israel. He hopes thegovernment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will stand firmagainst U.S. pressure to freeze the settlements.
"I hope when Ihear what they say that they mean it and I hope that they don't caveinto the pressure because I think the pressure on Israel from the EUand America is just going to increase as time goes by," said Allen.
Removingthe settlements will not come easily. But without an agreement on them,analysts say peace between Israel and the Palestinians will beunlikely.