🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has noted that the initial phase of the UN-endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is nearing conclusion, and added that the next stage must involve the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Discussions in Washington

The Israeli prime minister said he would examine the following stages later this month in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were outlined in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

“We’re about to finish the first phase,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to ensure that we achieve the equivalent outcomes in the second stage, and that’s something I look forward to addressing with President Trump.”

German Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was addressing the media at a shared media briefing with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “The second phase must start immediately and then phase three must also be taken into account.”

Merz is the initial leader of a major European state to hold talks with Netanyahu in Israel since the international criminal court released warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his ex- defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations in Gaza.

After winning federal elections in February, Merz had said he would invite Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but said on Sunday a trip was not presently planned. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “baseless charges” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Ongoing Truce

Under the first phase of the existing ceasefire agreement, Hamas released the remaining 20 living Israeli captives in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has handed over all but one of 28 bodies of hostages who died during the war. Concurrently, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.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 killed over 360 Palestinians, including an approximate 70 children. Three Israeli soldiers have been fatally wounded in Hamas military actions over the same timeframe.

Next Steps and Unclear Sequencing

Neither Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, detailed a schedule extending the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to withdraw farther, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be established under the control of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, supervising a administrative Palestinian committee to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The sequencing of these actions is ambiguous in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed 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 agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarise,” he asserted.

Potential Options and Diplomatic Stances

Netanyahu brought up the possibility of “other options” to the ISF, without explaining what those might be. He would not rule out Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “negotiation”, and reiterated that Israel was strongly against 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.

ICC Warrants and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu claimed the reason he would not be able make a reciprocal visit to Germany was the ICC arrest warrants, which he characterized as invented by the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any misconduct, but recused himself from his role in May awaiting the outcome of an investigation.

Netanyahu remarked Khan was “destroying the credibility of the ICC” with “false allegations of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

A separate tribunal, the international court of justice, is reviewing allegations that Israel has perpetrated 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 little cause to discuss this at the current juncture.”