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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The draft American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original 251 captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.