🔗 Share this article

Proposals for an international stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are facing increasing resistance after the United Arab Emirates stated it would not take part due to the lack of a well-defined legal framework.

Growing Global Reservations

Israel have already excluded Turkey involvement, and Jordan's King Abdullah has declared that Jordanian forces will not participate. Azerbaijan, previously considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a planning meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not contribute unless a complete truce was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a clear framework for the stabilisation mission and under such circumstances will not participate, but backs all diplomatic initiatives towards peace – and remain at the vanguard of humanitarian aid.

Arab Doubts and Legal Issues

The Emirati announcement, delivered by diplomatic representative Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in the UAE capital, highlights regional doubts about the provisions of a American-proposed resolution already circulated to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a US-directed security mission to be the principal means of ensuring security in the territory after Israel have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would prefer expanded responsibilities to be given to a distinct Palestinian law enforcement agency. International law would also prohibit external forces from deploying into contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit Palestinian consent; otherwise, the force could be viewed as imposed under UN law, and arguably stabilising an illegal Israeli occupation.

Local Viewpoints and Appeals for Clarity

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan said: “It is critical that the force be sent not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce global standards and end it. The force will succeed as long as it enters the entire disputed land, including the West Bank, at the invitation of Palestine, and has a defined goal to conclude the presence within the framework of a sovereign state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the occupied territories in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israeli leadership rejects.

Ongoing Discussions and Possible Risks

In-depth negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, started officially on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be lengthy – risking the development of a vacuum in the strip that may empower militant factions.

The United States is suggesting that it lead the mission although it will not have a large number of troops deployed on the ground. It has already effectively taken control of the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza from a recently established civil military coordination centre based in the neighboring country.

Force Objectives and Administrative Function

The proposed American document outlines the purpose of the security mission as “together with the recently prepared and vetted police force to assist in protecting border areas, stabilise the safety situation in the region by ensuring the procedure of disarming the Gaza Strip including the elimination and blocking of reconstructing the military terror and hostile facilities as well as the permanent removal of arms from militant factions”.

The mission, answerable to a “board of peace” led by the former US president, and not to the UN, would be mandated to use “any required actions” to achieve its objectives.

Arab states including Qatari officials are also concerned that this authority is overly broad, and if Hamas is to disarm, the group will solely do so to fellow Palestinians, likely in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the Hamas viewpoint, marks the conclusion of Israeli presence.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to granting the stabilisation force a governance function in Gaza, a responsibility that was to be set aside for a local expert panel working in cooperation with a restructured local government.

Aid Considerations and Funding Issues

This “transitional governance administration” in Gaza would remain until “the Palestinian Authority has satisfactorily completed its reform program, the approval of which shall be approved to the BoP”, the proposal says. It also “emphasizes the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the ICRC, and the humanitarian organizations.

However, it opens the door the removal of “any group found to have misused such assistance”. The phrase permits the board of peace barring the UN relief agency, the organization that the international court of justice has ruled is the lawful distributor of aid.

Global Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi representatives are currently advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be included in the resolution. The Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and Manal Radwan has stated that a reference to a Palestinian state is a requirement.

The PA chair, Mahmoud Abbas, held talks with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, in the French capital on this week to review the PA role.

Neither the UN nor the 15-member security council are assigned a oversight role over the mission, supervising the execution of the resolution, a aspect largely ignored by the draft text. Nothing is specified about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, according to the Americans, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israel's Demands and Regional Situations

Israel is requesting formal assurances from the US that it be permitted to emulate the pattern of the Lebanese situation and retain the right to return to the territory if it considers disarmament is not taking place at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner was in Jerusalem on this week to discuss developments on the ceasefire and the envoy was due to arrive subsequently the that day.

Just the remains of four of the original hundreds of Israeli hostages remain unreturned.

Independently, Israel has been proposing that the territory could yet be divided in two parts with rebuilding efforts starting in the Israel occupied areas of the region. International officials maintain that this is not part of the Trump plan.