🔗 Share this article

Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing opposition after the UAE stated it will not take part due to the lack of a clear legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israeli authorities have already excluded Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian forces will not join. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a potential participant, did not attend a planning session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Concerns

The UAE's decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, highlights regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted resolution already circulated to delegates at the UN in NYC. The draft assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the principal means of imposing order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like expanded duties to be assigned to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from entering contested Palestine unless there was clear Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful presence.

Palestinian Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the mission be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold international law and end it. The mission will work as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the request of the Palestinian authorities, and has a clear goal to end the occupation within the context of a independent state of Palestine.”

The draft contains no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Continuing Discussions and Potential Dangers

In-depth talks on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on last week in New York, and look likely to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the force although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has previously effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in Israel.

Force Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will only do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the end of Israeli presence.

They also worry the draft mandate extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would stay until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of full relief in the territory, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the removal of “any group determined to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the organization that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal distributor of assistance.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a mention to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the UN nor the 15-member UNSC are given a oversight function over the mission, supervising the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely overlooked by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is seeking written guarantees from the United States that it be permitted to follow the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the authority to re-enter the territory if it believes disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it demands.

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 review developments on the ceasefire and Witkoff was scheduled to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of a small number of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain not recovered.

Independently, Israel has been suggesting that the territory could yet be divided in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled areas of the strip. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.