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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference 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 Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in the territory, 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 excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive later the that day.

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

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.