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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on last week in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many personnel deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. 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 Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong security council are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear subsequently the that day.

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

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.