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Plans for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is 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 rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have many troops involved on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning 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 mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan 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 discuss the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.