UAE Refuses to Participate in Gaza Security Force Without Defined Legal Framework

Proposals for an international security mission authorized by the UN to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing increasing opposition after the UAE stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Increasing International Reservations

Israel have already ruled out Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously mooted as a possible participant, was absent from a preparatory session in Turkey and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a defined structure for the stabilisation mission and in this situation declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The proposal places an onus on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have left the region.

Arab states would like greater responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; without it, the mission could be seen as coercive under UN law, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to reinforce 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 occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the occupation within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no reference to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Dangers

In-depth talks on the mission authority, including its command and control, began formally on Thursday in New York, and appear to be protracted – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is proposing that it lead the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the ground. It has previously in effect assumed command of the distribution of humanitarian aid into the territory from a new logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Governance Function

The draft US resolution defines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the recently prepared and vetted police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting removal of weapons from non-state armed groups”.

The force, reporting to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the United Nations, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also concerned that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also worry the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a administrative function in the territory, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.

Aid Aspects and Financial Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.

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

Global Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already advocating for a mention to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

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

Not the United Nations nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight function over the mission, supervising the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly ignored by the proposed document. No details is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be largely borne by Gulf states, with the Kingdom taking the lead.

Israeli Demands and Local Situations

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

The request was put to the former US advisor, the ex-president's son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss developments on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the that day.

Only the bodies of four of the original hundreds of captives are still not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could still be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied parts of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the former US administration's proposal.