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Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign 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 Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Administrative Role

The draft American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to review developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.