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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible 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 clear framework for the stability mission and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many troops involved on the ground. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

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

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated 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 United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.