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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due 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 Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original 251 captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.