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Plans for an international security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE announced it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

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

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent 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 UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan 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 Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the original hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.