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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel deployed on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the same day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.