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

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stability force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to end 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 Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip 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 ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a administrative function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to review developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.