United Arab Emirates Refuses to Join Gaza Stabilisation Force Lacking Clear Juridical Structure

Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

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

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted document already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Potential Risks

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from militant factions”.

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

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

They also worry the proposed authority extends to granting the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to review the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a level or speed it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Just the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.