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Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of occupation.

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

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week 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 execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.