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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a vacuum 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 troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

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 stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original 251 captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.