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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

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

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the that day.

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

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.