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Plans for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories 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

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

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 delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.