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Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, 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 end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

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

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added 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 reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Local Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original 251 captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.