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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the context 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 two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Political Efforts

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 White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

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. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.