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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House 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, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.