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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a American-proposed document previously distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing 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 stated 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 the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.