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Plans for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

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

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the presence within the framework 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 peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the territory including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by Donald Trump, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the mission a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. 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 PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Local Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the Trump plan.