🔗 Share this article

Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating 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 Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point 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 Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.