United Arab Emirates Declines to Join Gazan Stabilisation Mission Lacking Defined Legal Framework

Plans for an international security mission authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential participant, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would like expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local civilian police force. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be viewed as coercive under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have many personnel deployed on the terrain. It has previously effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence 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 leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.

Just the bodies of four of the original 251 captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.