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Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined framework for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated 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 Monday to review the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.