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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce 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 peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed American document outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original 251 captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.