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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

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

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, 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 occupation.

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 Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory function 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 the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.