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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stability mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development 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 a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.