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Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

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

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention 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 a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong security council are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’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 ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.