🔗 Share this article

Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission 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 objective to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to arrive subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.