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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.