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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution 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 ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, 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 Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original 251 captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.