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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Administrative Role

The draft American document defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority 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 moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. 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 Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.