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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen 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 in effect assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon 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 Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

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