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Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the opening part of the UN-endorsed Gaza truce agreement is nearing completion, and added that the second phase must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli prime minister mentioned he would examine the subsequent actions in the coming weeks in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza plans were formalized in a UN security council decision on 17 November.

“We are close to finish the first stage,” Netanyahu stated. “But we have to guarantee that we attain the equivalent objectives in the next phase, and that’s something I anticipate reviewing with President Trump.”

German Leader Meets with Netanyahu

The prime minister was talking at a joint news conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who stated: “Phase two must start immediately and then phase three must also be examined.”

Merz is the first leader of a leading European state to meet Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) released warrants for arrest for the Israeli prime minister and his ex- 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 stated he would welcome Netanyahu to Germany despite the ICC warrants, but clarified on Sunday a trip was not presently planned. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “fabricated allegations” from a “biased prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Current Ceasefire

Under the initial stage of the present ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli captives in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 bodies of hostages who died during the war. Concurrently, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, resulting in them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Following 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 military actions over the identical timeframe.

Future Stages and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, detailed a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is supposed to disarm, Israeli troops are meant to pull back further, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the control of a “peace board” of world leaders led by Trump, supervising a technocratic Palestinian committee to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The sequencing of these measures is unclear in Trump’s proposals or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu put his emphasis 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 undertook to disarm and have Gaza demilitarized,” he asserted.

Potential Alternatives and Political Positions

Netanyahu brought up the prospects of “alternatives” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not exclude Israeli annexation of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “negotiation”, and reiterated that Israel was firmly opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, the goal of the peace process supported by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Charges and Legal Cases

Netanyahu stated 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 top prosecutor, Karim Khan, as a means of shifting focus from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any misconduct, but recused himself from his role in May pending the outcome of an investigation.

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

Another tribunal, the international court of justice, is weighing up allegations that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission determined that Israel had committed genocide.

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