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Plans for an international security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Role

The draft American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

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

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

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 scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to follow the model of Lebanon and retain the right to return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

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 developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.