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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, 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 conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

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 Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on last week in New York, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing 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 distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, secure the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added 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 independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.