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Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed document already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

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

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, 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 supervisory role over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.