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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are already pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.