UAE Declines to Participate in Gaza Stabilisation Force Without Defined Legal Framework

Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israel have previously excluded Turkish involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a potential participant, did not attend a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined framework for the stability force and in this situation declines involvement, but backs all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.

Arab Doubts and Juridical Issues

The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights Arab reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Arab states would prefer greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Calls for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israel opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the mission authority, including its command and control, started officially on last week in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Governance Function

The draft American document defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and prevention of rebuilding the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the stabilisation force a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of assistance.

Global Political Initiatives

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 due in the US presidential residence on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, 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 security council are given a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The request was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the territory could still be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.