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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the importance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, 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 phrase leaves open the council barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included 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 said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

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

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.