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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the context 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 prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Only the remains of four of the initial 251 captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.