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Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has previously in effect 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 proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

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

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Efforts

France 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 Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial 251 captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.