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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the UAE announced it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are currently 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 US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli 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 return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.