United Arab Emirates Declines to Participate in Gazan Stabilisation Force Without Clear Juridical Structure

Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal framework.

Growing International Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible participant, did not attend a planning meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was in place.

The UAE lacks clarity on a clear structure for the stability 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 Legal Issues

The UAE's announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects 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a American-led security mission to be the principal means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces from deploying into occupied Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an illegal presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the presence within the context 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 prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

Detailed talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, began formally on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – risking the emergence of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously in effect taken control of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, answerable to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into giving the stabilisation force a governance function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “underscores the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Diplomatic Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added 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 leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on this week to discuss the PA role.

Not the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are assigned a supervisory function over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. No details is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the model of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to return to Gaza if it considers disarmament is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The request was presented to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the truce and Witkoff was due to appear later the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned.

Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israel occupied parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.