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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the UAE announced it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

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

The United States is proposing that it command the mission 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 relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.