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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law 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 the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is proposing 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 humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, 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 “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has said is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.