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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed 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 proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Local Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be permitted to follow the model of Lebanon and retain the authority to return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial 251 captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.