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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated 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 Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief 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 removal of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the council barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. 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 prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

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

Just the bodies of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.