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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission 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 enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. 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.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight role over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.