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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stability mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

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 effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.