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Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering growing resistance after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already in effect assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.