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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation 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 sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many troops involved on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The draft American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force 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 militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

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 Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear later the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.