Thorny details bedevil any Mideast peace deal

Difficult issues
Israelis and Palestinians will also need to draw their future border. The formula worked out in previous negotiations called for a Palestinian state in the lines that existed before the 1967 war, with some modifications. Israel would be allowed to maintain most of its so-called settlement blocs — where most of its West Bank settlers reside — in exchange for giving the Palestinians territory inside Israel.

It won’t be an easy swap. The Palestinians will surely demand Israeli territory of equal size and value to the land they’re giving up for the settlements.

From the Israeli perspective, security is the biggest obstacle to peace — especially considering Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ poor track record in establishing law and order.

Israel may eventually sign a treaty. But it will not uproot tens of thousands of settlers and hand over territory to the Palestinians unless it can be assured that the evacuated land won’t be used as launching grounds for attacks — as happened after Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Israel will also likely insist on continued control of the airspace above a Palestinian state, that such a state not have an army and that Israel maintain a military presence in strategically sensitive areas of the West Bank. The Palestinians will not easily accept any of these demands.

Hamas adds complexity to deal
The two sides agreed at Annapolis to use the so-called road map peace plan as a guide for negotiations, with its key requirements that Israel stop expanding West Bank settlements and that the Palestinians rein in militants.

Israel insists that stopping violence from Gaza must be part of the Palestinians’ obligations. It’s not clear how Abbas could accomplish this, with Hamas in control of the coastal territory after having routed Abbas’ forces there in June.

Israel and the West are hoping to weaken Hamas’ hold on Gaza by propping up Abbas in the West Bank. They may also seek to co-opt Syria, a key backer of Hamas, in an effort to neutralize the Islamic militants. Syria was among the 16 Arab countries participating in this week’s summit.

Hamas already appears to be running into trouble in Gaza amid a devastating international boycott, and on Wednesday a senior Hamas official said his group might be willing to cooperate with Abbas.

Still, it will be extremely difficult for Abbas to make peace with Israel as long as he controls only part of his territory.

“He can negotiate. He cannot deliver,” said Israeli political analyst Yossi Alpher.

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