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Proposals for an international security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts 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on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force 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 blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.