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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms 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a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.