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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the development 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 troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace 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 representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.