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Proposals for an international stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the framework of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower militant factions.

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 taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

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

Humanitarian Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal distributor of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it demands.

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

Just the bodies of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.