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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE announced it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would like greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

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

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

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

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

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 a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial 251 captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.