United Arab Emirates Refuses to Join Gaza Security Mission Without Defined Legal Framework

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have previously excluded Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full ceasefire was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed document already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

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

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began officially on Thursday in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Administrative Role

The proposed American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting removal of arms from non-state armed groups”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to fulfill its goals.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the faction will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the council barring Unrwa, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to discuss the PA role.

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Requests and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the authority to re-enter the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was put to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the same day.

Only the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could still be split in two parts with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.