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Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE stated it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state 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 reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.