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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The draft American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

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

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine 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 stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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-member security council are assigned a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

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