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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would like greater duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started officially on last week in New York, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Only the remains of four of the original 251 captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.