UAE Declines to Join Gazan Stabilisation Mission Lacking Defined Legal Framework

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE announced it would not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a complete ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The draft American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. 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 stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a oversight function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.