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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing opposition after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent 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 achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled 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, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.