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Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, 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 fulfill its objectives.

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

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

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 importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.