🔗 Share this article

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to demilitarize the militant group in the Gaza Strip are encountering increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the absence of a clear legal framework.

Increasing Global Concerns

Israel have already ruled out Turkish participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, once mooted as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full truce was established.

The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation force and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Legal Concerns

The Emirati decision, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal places an onus on a American-led stabilisation force to be the principal means of ensuring order in Gaza after Israel have withdrawn from the territory.

Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be given to a separate Palestinian civilian police force. International law would also forbid foreign troops from entering occupied Palestine unless there was clear local approval; otherwise, the force could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is critical that the force be deployed not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to enforce global standards and end it. The mission will work as long as it operates in the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to end the occupation 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 sovereign Palestine, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its leadership structure, started officially on last week in the UN headquarters, and look likely to be lengthy – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in Gaza that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have many troops involved on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.

Mission Mandate and Administrative Function

The proposed American document outlines the purpose of the stabilisation force as “together with the recently prepared and screened law enforcement to assist in protecting border areas, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The force, reporting 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 fulfill its goals.

Regional powers including Qatar are also worried that this mandate is overly broad, and if the group is to disarm, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the local law enforcement, at a moment that, from the Hamas perspective, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the draft mandate spills into giving the mission a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be reserved for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Considerations and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent.

Nonetheless, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Initiatives

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the US presidential residence on the specified date, and Manal Radwan has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15-member security council are given a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the US officials, should be mostly borne by regional nations, with Saudi Arabia assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Local Developments

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be allowed to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a level or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was scheduled to appear later the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original hundreds of captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israeli-controlled parts of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.