UAE Declines to Participate in Gazan Security Mission Lacking Clear Legal Framework

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing opposition after the United Arab Emirates announced it will not join due to the absence of a clear legal structure.

Growing International Concerns

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, once considered as a possible participant, was absent from a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Doubts and Juridical Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have left the territory.

Arab states would like greater responsibilities to be assigned to a distinct local law enforcement agency. International law would also forbid external forces 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 unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to reinforce the unlawful presence, but to uphold international law and terminate it. The force will work as long as it operates in the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to conclude the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”

The draft contains no reference to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a outcome that Israeli leadership opposes.

Ongoing Discussions and Potential Risks

Detailed negotiations on the mission mandate, including its leadership structure, started formally on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The US is proposing that it command the mission although it will not have many troops deployed on the terrain. It has previously in effect assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed American document defines the aim of the security mission as “together with the newly trained and screened law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

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

Arab states including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the faction will solely do so to local counterparts, probably in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the global judicial body has said is the lawful distributor of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

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 independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to discuss the authority's function.

Not the United Nations nor the 15 strong security council are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a point largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the financing of this security operation, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israel's Demands and Local Developments

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of the Lebanese situation and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a level or pace it demands.

The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear later the that day.

Just the bodies of four of the initial 251 captives are still unreturned.

Separately, Israel has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. International officials insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.