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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and end it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the purpose 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 process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.