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Plans for an international security mission mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered 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 removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.