UAE Refuses to Join Gazan Stabilisation Force Lacking Clear Juridical Structure

Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize Hamas in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey 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 session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the presence 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 rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Governance Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “any required actions” to fulfill its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas 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 Hamas perspective, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in the strip would stay until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such aid”. The wording leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal distributor of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a reference to a independent Palestine is a prerequisite.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Requests and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to review developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

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

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.