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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously excluded Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential participant, did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

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 board of peace”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original 251 captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.