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Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously 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on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

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