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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

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

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the truce and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.