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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, 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 determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial 251 captives are still not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.