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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.