The United Arab Emirates will “probably” not join President Donald Trump’s International Stabilization Force for the Gaza Strip, a senior Emirati official stated on Monday.
“The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force,” Emirati presidential adviser on diplomatic affairs Anwar Gargash told the Emirates Policy Center’s Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate forum.
The United States has circulated a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council that would give Washington and its regional partners a broad mandate to govern Gaza and provide security for at least two years.
The ISF would work to demilitarize Gaza, as envisioned in the U.S. peace plan, including through “the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of military, terror and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups,” the draft states.
The Gaza “enforcement force” is to operate under a “unified command acceptable to the Board of Peace,” which Trump previously suggested could be headed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and will work “in close consultation and cooperation” with Egypt and Israel.
The U.S.-led international coalition is widely expected to include troops supplied by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, as well as the United Arab Emirates.
However, an Israeli government spokesperson told reporters on Sunday afternoon that “Turkish soldiers will not be deployed in the Gaza Strip.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, visiting the Jewish state last month, said. “We’re not going to force anything on our Israeli friends when it comes to foreign troops on their soil,” while noting that Washington does believe that “there’s a constructive role for the Turks to play.”
Jerusalem opposes any involvement by Turkey in the reconstruction of Gaza, due to its support for Hamas and hostility toward the Jewish state.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly incited against Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and throughout the war, and imposed a series of anti-Israel measures, including a trade boycott.
Last week, Istanbul’s Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other top officials. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz slammed Ankara’s move, calling Erdoğan to “take his ridiculous arrest warrants and get out of here.”
