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Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that the initial phase of the UN-endorsed Gaza truce framework is close to completion, noting that the second stage must require the demilitarization of Hamas.

Forthcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli leader said he would address the following stages later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza proposals were formalized in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.

“We are nearing finish the first phase,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to ensure that we attain the identical outcomes in the second phase, and that’s something I anticipate reviewing with President Trump.”

European Leader Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a shared news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who commented: “The second phase must come now and then stage three must also be examined.”

Merz is the initial head of state of a major 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 war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

After securing victory in federal elections in February, Merz had said he would invite Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but noted on Sunday a trip was not at this time under consideration. Netanyahu disregards the warrants as “trumped-up allegations” from a “biased prosecutor”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

During the first phase of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas released the final 20 surviving Israeli hostages in exchange 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. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a demarcation line, leaving them in occupation of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since the ceasefire was announced on 10 October, Israeli forces have been responsible for the deaths of over 360 Palestinians, including an estimated 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in Hamas military actions over the same period.

Next Steps and Unclear Timeline

Not one of Trump’s proposals, nor UN security council resolution 2803 which largely supported them, specified a timetable extending the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to withdraw farther, and an international stabilization force is to be established under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian council to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

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

“I think it’s important to make sure that Hamas complies not only with the ceasefire, but also with their commitment which they undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarized,” he said.

Potential Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “negotiation”, and stressed that Israel was adamantly opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state, the aim of the peace process desired by most European and Arab capitals as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the primary reason he would not be able make a return visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as fabricated by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a way of diverting attention from accusations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has refuted any wrongdoing, but stepped aside from his role in May pending the outcome of an investigation.

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “destroying the credibility of the ICC” with “false charges of starvation and genocide” from a “compromised official”.

A separate court, the international court of justice, is weighing up allegations that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission determined that Israel had carried out genocide.

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