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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention 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 discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.