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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, 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 achieve its goals.

Arab states 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 local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority 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 Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.