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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the UAE announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul 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 under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.