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Plans for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the ground. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

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

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already pressing 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 the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the right to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.