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Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential participant, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.