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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stability mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted document already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary 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 local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented 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 ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.