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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

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

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started officially on last week in New York, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

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

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, 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 Paris on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of four of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.