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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted 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 lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The request 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 this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.