UAE Refuses to Join Gazan Security Mission Lacking Clear Legal Framework

Plans for an international stabilisation force authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document already distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also forbid external forces from entering occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, began formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many personnel deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Regional Developments

Israeli authorities is seeking written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.