United Arab Emirates Refuses to Join Gazan Security Force Lacking Defined Legal Framework

Plans for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Increasing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkish participation, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation force and in this situation will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations 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 look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the terrain. It has already in effect taken control of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, 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 authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of full humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due 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, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a oversight 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 stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Local Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to follow 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 request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear subsequently the same day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.