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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the council barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.