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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the UAE announced it would not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

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

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase 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 assistance.

Global Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to return to Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.