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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like greater duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.