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Proposals 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 would not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Role

The proposed American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating 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 stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.