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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stability force and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to conclude the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference 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 this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.