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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a US-drafted document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due 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, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.