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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance role in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the same day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the initial 251 captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.