🔗 Share this article UAE Declines to Join Gazan Stabilisation Mission Without Clear Legal Framework Proposals for an multinational security mission authorized by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are encountering growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it will not join due to the lack of a clear legal framework. Growing Global Concerns Israeli authorities have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a potential contributor, did not attend a preparatory session in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was established. The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid. Regional Skepticism and Juridical Concerns The UAE's announcement, made by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a American-proposed document previously distributed to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of imposing order in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the territory. Regional governments would prefer expanded duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation. Palestinian Perspectives and Calls for Clarity A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the presence within the context of a sovereign state of Palestine.” The draft contains no reference to the West Bank in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership opposes. Ongoing Discussions and Potential Dangers In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the development of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions. The US is proposing that it command the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has previously in effect taken control of the distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a new civil military coordination centre based in Israel. Force Objectives and Governance Function The proposed US resolution defines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the security environment in the region by guaranteeing the procedure of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of weapons from militant factions”. The force, answerable to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “any required actions” to achieve its goals. Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant perspective, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence. They also worry the proposed authority spills into granting the mission a governance function in the territory, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured Palestinian Authority. Aid Considerations and Funding Issues This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations. However, it allows for the exclusion of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The wording leaves open the council barring Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal distributor of aid. International Diplomatic Initiatives France and Saudi representatives are currently pressing for a mention to a Palestinian state to be included in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement. The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the authority's function. Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are given a supervisory function over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a point mostly overlooked by the draft text. No details is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility. Israeli Demands and Local Situations Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to re-enter Gaza if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires. The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear later the that day. Only the bodies of a small number of the initial hundreds of captives remain unreturned. Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts beginning in the Israel occupied parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.