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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards 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 conclude the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

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

Just the bodies of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.