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Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the opening phase of the UN-endorsed Gaza halt in hostilities proposal is approaching completion, and added that the subsequent phase must include the disarmament of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier revealed he would talk about the following stages in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza initiatives were outlined in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

“We’re about to conclude the initial stage,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to guarantee that we secure the same results in the next stage, and that’s something I anticipate reviewing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Stage two must begin now and then stage three must also be examined.”

Merz is the initial leader of a significant European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court released arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had stated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany regardless of the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a trip was not currently under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Current Truce

During the first phase of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the remaining 20 surviving Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 remains of hostages killed during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a truce line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was put into effect on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of more than 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas attacks over the same period.

Next Steps and Ambiguous Timeline

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which mostly endorsed them, specified a schedule transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to pull back further, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be created under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian committee to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

The order of these measures is vague in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s crucial to ensure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their obligation which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.

Possible Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu brought up the possibility of “alternatives” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a topic of “negotiation”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu said the primary reason he would not be able to make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as manufactured by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of shifting focus from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any misconduct, but stepped aside from his role in May awaiting the conclusion of an investigation.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the standing of the ICC” with “false charges of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised official”.

Another tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is weighing up charges that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide.

Questioned about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is no reason to discuss this at the current juncture.”