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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stability force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, started formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many personnel deployed on the ground. It has already in effect assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

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

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have improperly used 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 legal distributor of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.