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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously mooted as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document previously circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission mandate, including its command and control, started formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip 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 involved on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are assigned a oversight function over the mission, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and retain the authority to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.