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Plans for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has previously in effect assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met 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 assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.