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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Risks

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

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.