UAE Refuses to Join Gaza Stabilisation Force Lacking Clear Legal Framework

Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing opposition after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stability mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would like greater responsibilities to be given to a separate local civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence 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 many troops deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving 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 local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The wording permits the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal distributor of aid.

International Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently 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 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 president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a oversight function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Just the remains of four of the original 251 captives remain not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.