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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft US resolution defines the aim 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 ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are already advocating 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 Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.