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Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab 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 security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

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 Potential Risks

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower 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 in effect assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, 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 overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in the territory, 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 phrase leaves open the council barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point mostly ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the original 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the region. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.