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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.