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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed 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 West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.