United Arab Emirates Declines to Join Gazan Security Mission Without Defined Legal Framework

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the UAE stated it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stability mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is proposing that it lead the mission although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Administrative Role

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a administrative function in the territory, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference 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 Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial 251 captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.