🔗 Share this article

Plans for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.