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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Arab states would like greater duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza 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 “emphasizes the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state 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 Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

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