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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely 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 worry the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently 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 US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.