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

Growing International Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable 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 worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Just the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.