United Arab Emirates Refuses to Join Gaza Security Force Lacking Defined Juridical Structure

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering increasing resistance after the UAE announced it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian troops will not join. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential participant, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Turkey and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was in place.

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

Arab Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights Arab doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of ensuring security in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably reinforcing an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to stabilise the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen militant factions.

The US is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Mission Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed American document outlines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the militant perspective, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving 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 Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has said is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Initiatives

French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the authority's function.

Not the UN nor the 15 strong security council are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and retain the right to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or speed it demands.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the initial hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.