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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stability force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

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

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.