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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily 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 the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference 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 review the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Local Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes disarmament 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 American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear later the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still 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.