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Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already excluded Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight role over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.