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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the UAE stated it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain 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 “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 aid”. The wording permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to review developments on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original 251 captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.