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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce 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 West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate 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 assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, 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 function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the truce and the envoy was due to appear later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.