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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be given to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas 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 Hamas perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original 251 captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.