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Plans for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference 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 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial 251 captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.