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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible 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 mission and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded 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 clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, started formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, 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 found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. 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 Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.