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Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many personnel deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

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

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

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a administrative function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the right to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.