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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The mission will work 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 end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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

Continuing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, started formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the truce and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.