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Plans for an international security mission mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end 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 outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force 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 militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention 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 Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.