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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

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

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Political Efforts

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

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

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.