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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to the territory 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 American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear later the same day.

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

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.