United Arab Emirates Refuses to Join Gaza Security Mission Lacking Clear Juridical Structure

Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing International Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning session in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stability force and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the vanguard of relief efforts.

Regional Skepticism and Legal Issues

The Emirati decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably stabilising an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the whole occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear objective to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israel rejects.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the terrain. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Role

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to giving the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Aid Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the proposal says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have improperly used such aid”. The wording permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention 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.

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Local Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on Monday to review progress on the truce and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the same day.

Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be split in two with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied areas of the strip. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.