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Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the same day.

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

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.