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Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will succeed 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 conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” 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 Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was put to the former US advisor, 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 the envoy was scheduled to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.