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Plans for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have previously excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stability mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like greater duties to be given to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to giving the mission a administrative role in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

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

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

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

Just the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.