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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

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

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay 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 “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight role over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.