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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

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

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, 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 barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

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

Only the bodies of four of the original hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.