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Plans for an international security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted document already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards 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 clear objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has previously in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” 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 group found to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.