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Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the primary stage of the internationally-supported Gaza truce plan is close to completion, and added that the next stage must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Forthcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli premier stated he would talk about the subsequent actions in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were outlined in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.

“We are close to conclude the initial stage,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we secure the same results in the next stage, and that’s something I am eager to addressing with President Trump.”

German Leader Meets with Netanyahu

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

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

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had indicated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a visit was not currently planned. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “fabricated charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Terms of the Ongoing Ceasefire

Under the initial stage of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of more than 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas attacks over the identical period.

Future Stages and Ambiguous Sequencing

Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, specified a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be established under the authority of a “board of peace” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The order of these measures is ambiguous in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s vital to make sure that Hamas abides not only with the ceasefire, but also with their pledge which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he said.

Potential Options and Diplomatic Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of “alternatives” to the ISF, without elaborating on what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “negotiation”, and emphasized that Israel was strongly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process supported by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

International Criminal Court Charges and Judicial Cases

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

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “destroying the standing of the ICC” with “trumped-up allegations of starvation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

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

Questioned about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz told reporters on Sunday: “There is little cause to discuss this at the moment.”