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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent 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 Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank 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 mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US 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 distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into 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.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.