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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a American-proposed document already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in New York, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal distributor of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Just the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.