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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear goal 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 sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many personnel deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state 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 independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original 251 captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.