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

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Role

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in the region 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 lasting decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.