🔗 Share this article UAE Declines to Join Gazan Stabilisation Mission Without Defined Legal Framework Plans for an multinational stabilisation force authorized by the United Nations to disarm Hamas in Gaza are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates announced it would not take part due to the absence of a well-defined legal framework. Growing International Reservations Israel have already ruled out Turkish involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that Jordanian troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, once mooted as a possible contributor, did not attend a planning session in Turkey and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete ceasefire was established. Emirati officials lacks clarity on a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and in this situation will not participate, but will support all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and stay at the forefront of relief efforts. Regional Doubts and Juridical Issues The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in the UAE capital, reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in NYC. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led security mission to be the primary means of imposing security in the territory after Israel have left the territory. Arab states would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a separate local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the mission could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and potentially stabilising an unlawful presence. Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Clarity A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is critical that the mission be sent not to reinforce the illegal Israeli occupation, but to uphold international law and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the whole occupied territory, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of the Palestinian authorities, and has a defined objective to conclude the occupation within the framework of a independent Palestinian state.” There is no mention to the occupied territories in the American proposal, or to a sovereign Palestine, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel rejects. Ongoing Negotiations and Possible Risks Detailed talks on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – risking the development of a vacuum in the strip that may strengthen Hamas. The US is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has previously in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into the territory from a recently established logistical hub based in Israel. Force Objectives and Governance Function The proposed US resolution defines the aim of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, stabilise the safety situation in the region by guaranteeing the process of disarming the territory including the elimination and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent decommissioning of arms from militant factions”. The mission, answerable to a “peace council” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be required to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its objectives. Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this mandate is too expansive, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the militant perspective, marks the conclusion of occupation. They also worry the draft mandate spills into granting the mission a governance role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in conjunction with a reformed local government. Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions This “transitional governance administration” in the strip would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has adequately completed its reform program, the satisfaction of which shall be approved to the board of peace”, the draft says. It also “emphasizes the significance” of full relief in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations. Nonetheless, it allows for the exclusion of “any organisation found to have improperly used such assistance”. The phrase permits the council excluding Unrwa, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid. International Diplomatic Initiatives French officials and Saudi Arabia are currently pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the document. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on the specified date, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has said that a reference to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite. The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, met the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Monday to review the authority's function. Neither the UN nor the 15-member security council are given a oversight role over the mission, supervising the implementation of the proposal, a point largely overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely covered by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia taking the lead. Israel's Requests and Local Developments Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of Lebanon and reserve the right to re-enter the territory if it considers demilitarization is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires. The request was presented to Jared Kushner, the ex-president's relative, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to appear subsequently the same day. Only the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages remain unreturned. Independently, Israeli officials has been proposing that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two parts with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. Western diplomats maintain that this is no part of the Trump plan.