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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility 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 prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. 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 independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

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

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.