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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

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

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

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved 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 exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing 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 reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.