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Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model 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 presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.