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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

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

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.