🔗 Share this article

Proposals for an multinational stabilisation force mandated by the UN to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip are encountering growing opposition after the UAE announced it will not join due to the absence of a well-defined legal structure.

Growing Global Concerns

Israel have previously ruled out Turkey participation, and Jordan's King Abdullah has stated that his country's troops will not participate. The Azerbaijani government, previously considered as a possible contributor, was absent from a preparatory meeting in Istanbul and indicated it would not take part unless a full ceasefire was in place.

Emirati officials does not yet see a defined framework for the stability force and in this situation will not participate, but backs all diplomatic efforts towards resolution – and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid.

Arab Skepticism and Juridical Issues

The UAE's decision, made by senior envoy Dr Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi, reflects regional reservations about the provisions of a US-drafted document previously distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York. The proposal assigns responsibility on a American-led stabilisation force to be the primary means of imposing security in Gaza after Israeli forces have withdrawn from the region.

Regional governments would like greater duties to be assigned to a distinct local civilian police force. International law would also forbid external forces from entering contested Palestinian territories unless there was explicit local approval; without it, the force could be viewed as imposed under international statutes, and arguably reinforcing an unlawful Israeli occupation.

Local Perspectives and Calls for Definition

A Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan commented: “It is essential that the mission be deployed not to reinforce the illegal presence, but to enforce 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 clear goal to end the presence within the framework of a independent state of Palestine.”

There is no mention to the West Bank in the US draft resolution, or to a Palestinian state, or a two-state solution, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Continuing Negotiations and Possible Dangers

Detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force authority, including its leadership structure, began officially on Thursday in the UN headquarters, and appear to be lengthy – potentially creating the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

The United States is suggesting that it command the mission although it will not have a large number of personnel deployed on the ground. It has already effectively assumed command of the distribution of relief supplies into Gaza from a new logistical hub based in Israel.

Force Objectives and Governance Role

The proposed US resolution outlines the purpose of the security mission as “along with the newly trained and screened police force to assist in protecting frontier zones, secure the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the territory including the destruction and prevention of reconstructing the militant and hostile facilities as well as the lasting decommissioning of weapons from militant factions”.

The force, reporting to a “board of peace” 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 Qatar are also worried that this authority is too expansive, and if Hamas is to lay down arms, the group will only do so to fellow Palestinians, probably in the local law enforcement, at a time that, from the militant viewpoint, signifies the end of occupation.

They also fear the proposed authority extends to giving the mission a administrative function in Gaza, a task that was to be set aside for a local technocratic committee working in conjunction with a reformed local government.

Humanitarian Aspects and Funding Questions

This “interim authority” in Gaza would stay until “the local government has satisfactorily finished its restructuring plan, the approval of which shall be acceptable to the BoP”, the proposal states. It also “underscores the importance” of full humanitarian aid in Gaza, including through the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the humanitarian organizations.

Nonetheless, it allows for the removal of “any group found to have improperly used such aid”. The phrase leaves open the council excluding the UN relief agency, the body that the global judicial body has ruled is the legal provider of aid.

International Political Efforts

French officials and Saudi Arabia are already advocating for a reference to a sovereign Palestine to be added in the resolution. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is due in the White House on 18 November, and a Saudi foreign ministry official has stated that a mention to a Palestinian state is a prerequisite.

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

Neither the United Nations nor the 15 strong UNSC are assigned a supervisory role over the mission, monitoring the implementation of the resolution, a aspect mostly overlooked by the proposed document. Nothing is outlined about the funding of this stabilisation mission, which, as per the US officials, should be mostly covered by regional nations, with the Kingdom assuming primary responsibility.

Israeli Demands and Regional Situations

Israeli authorities is seeking formal assurances from the United States that it be allowed to follow the model of Lebanon and reserve the right to return to Gaza if it believes disarmament is not occurring at a scale or pace it requires.

The Israeli proposal was presented to the former US advisor, the ex-president's relative, and the American diplomat, Steve Witkoff. The advisor was in Jerusalem on this week to review developments on the truce and the envoy was scheduled to arrive later the same day.

Only the remains of four of the original 251 captives remain not recovered.

Independently, Israeli officials has been suggesting that the Gaza Strip could still be divided in two with reconstruction work beginning in the Israel occupied areas of the region. International officials insist that this is no part of the former US administration's proposal.