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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israel have previously excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” 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 proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” 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 found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive later the that day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.