United Arab Emirates Refuses to Participate in Gazan Stabilisation Mission Lacking Clear Juridical Structure

Plans for an international security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing resistance after the UAE announced it will not take part due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was established.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all political efforts towards peace – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israeli forces have left the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal presence.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined goal to end the presence within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

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

Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The draft US resolution outlines the aim of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the territory including the destruction and blocking of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning 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 achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant viewpoint, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance role in Gaza, a task that was to be reserved for a Palestinian expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full relief in the territory, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the lawful provider of aid.

Global Political Initiatives

France and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the financing of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be mostly covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Requests and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter Gaza if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive later the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages are still not recovered.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.