🔗 Share this article

Plans for an multinational security mission mandated by the United Nations to disarm the militant group in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Reservations

Israeli authorities have previously ruled out Turkey involvement, and the Jordanian King Abdullah has declared that his country's troops will not join. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible contributor, did not attend a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and said it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear structure for the stability force and under such circumstances declines involvement, but will support all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and stay at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Regional Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to delegates at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of ensuring order in the territory after Israeli forces have left the territory.

Arab states would prefer greater duties to be given to a separate Palestinian law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the mission could be viewed as coercive under UN law, and arguably stabilising an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition

Jamal Nusseibeh of the ceasefire proposal commented: “It is essential that the force be sent not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and terminate it. The mission will succeed as long as it operates in the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the invitation 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 mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started formally on last week in New York, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a power gap in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have many personnel involved on the terrain. It has already effectively assumed command of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Mandate and Administrative Role

The draft US resolution defines the aim of the stabilisation force as “along with the recently prepared and screened police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the procedure of demilitarising the territory including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, reporting to a “board of peace” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Regional powers including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the faction will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a Palestinian technocratic committee working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Aspects and Funding Issues

This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its restructuring plan, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the draft says. It also “underscores the significance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it allows for the removal of “any organisation found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring Unrwa, the body that the international court of justice has said is the legal provider of assistance.

International Diplomatic Efforts

France and Saudi representatives are already 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 a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a independent Palestine is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on Monday to review the authority's function.

Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the proposal, a aspect mostly ignored by the draft text. No details is specified about the financing of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead.

Israel's Requests and Regional Developments

Israel is seeking formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to return to Gaza if it believes demilitarization is not occurring at a scale or speed it requires.

The Israeli proposal was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in the Israeli capital on this week to discuss progress on the truce and Witkoff was due to arrive later the that day.

Just the bodies of a small number of the original 251 Israeli hostages are still unreturned.

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