UAE Declines to Participate in Gazan Security Mission Without Defined Legal Framework

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like expanded duties to be given to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear Palestinian consent; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially stabilising an illegal presence.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

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

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Dangers

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of troops involved on the terrain. It has already effectively taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft American document outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by guaranteeing the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of weapons from militant factions”.

The mission, 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.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a administrative function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal 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 allows for the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have misused such aid”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Developments

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of captives are still unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be divided in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.