🔗 Share this article

Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold 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 clear goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Aid Considerations and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.