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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started officially on last week in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid 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 recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip 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 humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.