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Proposals for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a potential participant, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is too expansive, 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 viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the original hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.