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Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

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

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled 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 leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.