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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The draft American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the end of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has adequately completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the original 251 captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.