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Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked that the primary part of the UN-endorsed Gaza truce framework is approaching finalization, noting that the subsequent phase must entail the disarmament of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

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

“We are close to conclude the initial phase,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to make sure that we secure the identical results in the second stage, and that’s something I look forward to reviewing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Meets with Netanyahu

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

Merz is the initial head of state of a leading European state to confer with Netanyahu in Israel since the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered 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 allegations in Gaza.

After winning 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 planned. Netanyahu rejects the warrants as “trumped-up charges” from a “corrupt prosecuting office”.

Terms of the Ongoing Truce

Under the first phase of the existing ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 bodies of hostages killed during the war. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a ceasefire line, leaving them in control of 58% of the Gaza Strip.

Since 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 attacks over the same period.

Future Stages and Unclear Sequencing

Not one of Trump’s suggestions, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which largely endorsed them, set out a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a permanent peace. Hamas is required to disarm, Israeli troops are supposed to retreat more, and an international stabilisation force (ISF) is to be set up under the authority of a “peace board” of world leaders headed by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian council to run day-to-day governance of Gaza.

The timeline of these steps is ambiguous in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his statements on Sunday, Netanyahu focused on Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s vital 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 asserted.

Possible Options and Political Positions

Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of “other options” to the ISF, without clarifying what those might be. He would not dismiss Israeli sovereignty of the West Bank, labeling it as a subject of “debate”, and stressed that Israel was adamantly against the creation of a Palestinian state, the objective of the peace process desired by most European and Arab governments as well as the vast majority of UN member states.

ICC Warrants 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 fabricated 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 wrongdoing, but stepped aside from his role in May pending the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu asserted Khan was “harming the credibility of the ICC” with “unfounded allegations of starvation and genocide” from a “compromised official”.

Another tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is considering charges that Israel has perpetrated genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN independent investigative commission found that Israel had carried out genocide.

Asked about the prospect of Netanyahu visiting Germany, Merz informed reporters on Sunday: “There is no reason to consider this at the present time.”