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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has previously in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

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

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.