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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 increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, 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 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 a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

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

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

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.