🔗 Share this article

Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that the opening segment of the internationally-supported Gaza truce plan is close to completion, and added that the second stage must involve the demilitarization of Hamas.

Upcoming Talks in Washington

The Israeli premier said he would talk about the future steps in late November in Washington with Donald Trump, whose Gaza initiatives were outlined in a UN Security Council decision on 17 November.

“We are close to finish the first phase,” Netanyahu remarked. “But we have to ensure that we secure the identical outcomes in the next stage, and that’s something I look forward to addressing with President Trump.”

European Chancellor Visits Netanyahu

The prime minister was speaking at a shared press conference with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said: “Phase two must come now and then stage three must also be taken into account.”

Merz is the first leader of a major 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 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 trip was not at this time under consideration. Netanyahu dismisses the warrants as “fabricated allegations” from a “corrupt prosecutor”.

Details of the Ongoing Truce

During the first phase of the present ceasefire deal, Hamas freed the final 20 surviving Israeli captives in return for some 2,000 Palestinian detainees held by Israel, and it has transferred all but one of 28 remains of hostages who died during the war. At the same time, Israeli forces have pulled back to a ceasefire line, leaving them in occupation 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 killed in Hamas military actions over the identical period.

Future Stages and Unclear Timeline

Neither Trump’s proposals, nor UN Security Council resolution 2803 which mostly supported them, detailed a timetable transitioning the ceasefire into a lasting peace. Hamas is expected to disarm, Israeli troops are scheduled to retreat more, and an international stabilization force is to be set up under the control of a “peace board” of world leaders chaired by Trump, overseeing a administrative Palestinian council to run day-to-day administration of Gaza.

The order of these measures is not clear in Trump’s plan or in resolution 2803. In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu stressed Hamas disarmament.

“I think it’s important to ensure that Hamas adheres not only with the ceasefire, but also with their obligation which they agreed to to disarm and have Gaza demilitarized,” he asserted.

Potential Options and Diplomatic Stances

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

International Criminal Court Charges and Judicial Proceedings

Netanyahu said 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 way of diverting attention from allegations of sexual harassment against him. Khan has denied any misconduct, but stepped down from his role in May pending the conclusion of an inquiry.

Netanyahu said Khan was “destroying the standing of the ICC” with “unfounded allegations of deprivation and acts of genocide” from a “compromised official”.

Another tribunal, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is reviewing allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. In September, a UN autonomous investigative commission determined that Israel had carried out genocide.

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