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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Potential Risks

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, 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 lead the force although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure border areas, secure the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, 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 Palestinian state is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the bodies of four of the original 251 captives remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.