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Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE announced it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The wording leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.