Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm the militant group in the Gaza Strip are facing growing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not join due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.
Growing Global Concerns
Israeli authorities have previously excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's forces will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a potential contributor, was absent from a preparatory session in Istanbul and said it would not take part unless a complete truce was in place.
Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all political initiatives towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of relief efforts.
Arab Doubts and Legal Issues
The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a conference in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional doubts about the terms of a American-proposed resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The draft places an onus on a US-directed stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing order in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.
Regional governments would prefer greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local law enforcement agency. Global jurisprudence would also prohibit foreign troops from deploying into contested Palestine unless there was explicit local approval; otherwise, the mission could be seen as coercive under international statutes, and potentially reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.
Palestinian Perspectives and Appeals for Definition
A Palestinian American co-author of the ceasefire proposal said: “It is essential that the force be deployed not to stabilise the illegal presence, but to uphold global standards and terminate it. The mission will work as long as it enters the whole disputed land, including the occupied territories, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to end the occupation within the context of a independent Palestinian state.”
There is no reference to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a peaceful resolution, a outcome that Israeli leadership rejects.
Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers
In-depth negotiations on the mission authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be protracted – potentially creating the emergence of a power gap in the strip that may strengthen militant factions.
The United States is suggesting that it lead the force although it will not have a large number of personnel involved on the ground. It has already in effect assumed command of the delivery of relief supplies into Gaza from a recently established logistical hub based in the neighboring country.
Force Objectives and Governance Role
The draft American document defines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted law enforcement to help secure frontier zones, secure the safety situation in the region by ensuring the process of disarming the Gaza Strip including the destruction and blocking of rebuilding the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of arms from militant factions”.
The mission, reporting to a “peace council” chaired by Donald Trump, and not to the United Nations, would be mandated to use “all necessary measures” to achieve its goals.
Regional powers including Qatari officials are also worried that this authority is overly broad, and if the group is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to local counterparts, likely in the civilian police force, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, signifies the conclusion of Israeli presence.
They also fear the proposed authority spills into granting the stabilisation force a administrative role in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a Palestinian expert panel working in conjunction with a restructured Palestinian Authority.
Humanitarian Considerations and Financial Questions
This “interim authority” in the strip would remain until “the local government has adequately finished its reform program, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the draft states. It also “emphasizes the importance” of unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the UN, the ICRC, and the Red Crescent.
However, it opens the door the exclusion of “any group found to have misused such aid”. The wording leaves open the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has said is the lawful provider of aid.
Global Diplomatic Efforts
French officials and Saudi Arabia are already pressing for a reference to a Palestinian state to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is scheduled in the White House on 18 November, 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 this week to discuss the PA role.
Neither the UN nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the stabilisation force, monitoring the execution of the proposal, a point largely ignored by the proposed document. Nothing is specified about the funding of this security operation, which, as per the Americans, should be largely borne by regional nations, with the Kingdom taking the lead.
Israeli Requests and Local Situations
Israeli authorities is requesting written guarantees from the US that it be allowed to emulate the model of Lebanon and reserve the authority to return to the territory if it believes demilitarization is not taking place at a level or speed it demands.
The request was put to the former US advisor, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in the Israeli capital on Monday to discuss progress on the truce and the envoy was due to arrive later the same day.
Just the remains of four of the initial 251 Israeli hostages are still not recovered.
Separately, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could yet be split in two with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israeli-controlled parts of the strip. Western diplomats insist that this is not part of the Trump plan.
