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Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a possible participant, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, 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.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

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

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.